Scars of Time
by Megaman-NT-Warrior
Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still brimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the prope o J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. However Georgina and any otehr characters you dont' recognize (unless otherwise stated) are products of my own imagination.

* * *

Chapter One

Grey eyes flickered around nervously as the scarlet steam engine whistled it's warning to those still standing on the platform. Scorpius' gaze landed on his dad, standing calm and regal in the train's billowing smoke. Draco met his son's look with identical wolf grey eyes and smiled at him, pushing a lock of the child's silvery blond hair behind his ear.

"Come on, it wouldn't do for you to miss the train on your first year at Hogwarts." He gave Scorpius a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before gently nudging him towards the nearest door.

"But what if I'm-" Scorpius started, nervousness cutting off his words. Draco knelt beside him so they were eye level, shooting his son a concerned look. "But Dad, I look terrible in yellow. " The whispered words rushed out and the boy looked away, unable to continue eye contact. Draco softened and placed a comforting hand on Scorpius' shoulder. To a passer-by it would seem merely a shallow, vain comment, to Draco it was admittance of a deep-seated fear; fear of rejection. One he had felt far too often growing up.

"Scorpius. I don't care what house you get sorted into and you shouldn't either. The house system is only in place to make class sizes smaller and to give an extra incentive not to break any rules. Oh, and to make separate Quidditch teams." Draco smiled as his words brought a laugh out of his son. "There is nothing that can happen that will make me any less proud of you, that's a promise. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now go or you really will miss your train. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Promise to write?"

"Of course. Now go, have fun." Draco gently pushed Scorpius towards the train door. The blond boy hopped onto the train a few seconds before it began to pull away. There was a startled shout from Draco's right and he looked around to see the younger Potter boy, Albus he recalled from an article in the _Daily Prophet_, still on the platform and running to catch up with the train.

Scorpius was just about to head inside when he heard the commotion. On instinct he seized one side of the train doorway and held his free hand out for the other boy. They both burst out laughing once Albus was safely on the train and it began to pick up speed, creating a wind that made his hair even messier than it was normally.

"Thanks, I owe you. I'm-"

"Albus Potter. I know. I'm Scorpius, it's nice to meet you." Albus laughed again and slung an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, steering him into the train corridor. Scorpius gave his companion a curious look and took a moment to observe him more closely. Impossibly bright green eyes stared back at him from behind a too long fringe. This boy, strangely enough, seemed open and friendly towards him; unlike most people he had met in his life. His surname caused him to be generally avoided and led to a majority of his time being spent with either his Dad or Uncle Greg, his Dad's best friend. Separation from general society hadn't been conducive to making many friends and Scorpius could only count one person his age who could be called a friend; Greg's eleven year old daughter Georgina.

His Dad had warned him that Hogwarts could be the same situation, especially with the Potter's and their close friends. But this boy, this Albus, didn't seem to understand that he should hate Scorpius on principle and the blond boy wasn't going to be the one to inform him. He was being so kind. It couldn't be that he didn't recognize him; his Dad had been in the papers often enough and Greg was always saying how much Scorpius resembled him. He felt a small flicker of hope come to life in his chest. A hope that was quickly smothered as he felt the warm weight of Albus' arm ripped unceremoniously from his shoulders.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Al?" The boy who had stopped them was a burly third year with thick auburn hair and was already wearing his red trimmed Gryffindor school robes. He pulled Albus a few steps away from Scorpius. "You don't want to be seen talking to a Malfoy."

"You know he can hear you, right James?" Scorpius had walked away before he could catch whatever James, James Potter the _Prophet_ worshiped eldest child of the savoir of the wizarding world, said in response and made his way to the compartment that he had placed his trunk in earlier. It was thankfully empty and painfully obvious that the name S. H. Malfoy stamped onto the side of his trunk in silver ink was a deterrent to any potential occupants. He had just settled down with a book when there was a soft knock and the compartment door slide halfway open. He looked up to find Albus standing in the doorway, looking upset.

"Look, I'm really sorry. My brother is a colossal jerk. And a few other things my mother would ground me for saying. Just ignore him, I do."

"But he is right you know. You really don't want to be seen with someone like me." Scorpius returned to his book, fully resigned to being shunned by his school mates, when Albus slipped in and took the seat opposite him. "What are you doing?"

"Those people out there don't tell me who I can and cannot talk to. I will leave when _you_ want me to."

"You would risk social suicide to sit with one almost complete stranger instead of your inevitable adoring admirers?"

"I didn't see any admirers risk their own necks to get me on this train, did you?" Albus asked in a mock seriousness that made Scorpius smile. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No. I would like it if you stayed."

"I guess I just don't understand why everyone dislikes your family so much."

"Something that happened with my Dad in the war before we were born. I thought everyone knew that. The papers always say that our whole family are traitors and that I shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts at all."

"That's horrible. That's not what my Dad thinks." Albus said quietly, immediately drawing Scorpius' attention. "Whenever he sees an article like that he gets really angry and says that without your Dad we'd all be dead. Well... Mum doesn't agree but she tries to stay out of it and says that I'm too young to know the details."

"I'm glad someone believes him. The people who live near us... well, they don't have a problem expressing how they feel."

"What happened?"

"We were in the front garden and Dad had to go inside for a minute..." Scorpius said softly as he rolled up his left sleeve. His lower arm was wrapped tightly in a white bandage. He explained as he slowly unwound it. "One of our neighbors decided to curse me. I've never seen Dad so angry before." The inside of his arm from wrist to elbow was burned and it took Albus a minute to realize that it formed a pattern. Angry red lines traced the outline of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. "It doesn't hurt anymore and Dad gave me a potion to put on it at night to make it fade."

"Did you go to the Ministry? One of the Aurors could have arrested them."

"Most people don't like us much remember? That includes the Ministry." Scorpius said as he put the bandage back on. "Dad wouldn't explain but he said that if we went to the Aurors they would think he had done it and he would be in Azkaban right now."

"Who would curse their own child?"

"I don't know. But I've seen the symbol before. Sometimes Dad and I find it painted on one of the outside walls. It's usually just in black paint and Dad shrugs it off as a prank but the last one I found was drawn in blood. Underneath it someone had written 'follow your master to his grave Malfoy'. It stopped being a prank then." Scorpius lapsed into a pained silence, staring down at the book in his lap. Albus moved so he was sitting beside the other boy.

"If anyone at Hogwarts tries something like that they're going to have to go through me." Scorpius looked at him for a minute before he broke out into the first real smile since the attack. There was a soft knock on the door and they both looked up to find a girl standing in the corridor outside their compartment. She was tall and willowy with long black hair braided down her back.

"I knew I'd find you eventually." She said warmly as she swept into their car and sat opposite the two boys.

"Albus, this is Georgina Goyle my best friend and cousin for all intents and purposes."

"Our fathers are best friends." Georgina supplied as an explanation. "And you are?"

"Albus Potter. It's nice to meet you. Are you two as nervous as I am to finally be going to Hogwarts?"

"Yes." Scorpius said automatically. "House selection mainly..."

"If I get sorted into Slytherin it gives my brother permission to mock me for the rest of my life." Albus said in a deadpan tone and Georgina gave him a curious look.

"Why? What's wrong with Slytherin?"

"His brother is a Gryffindor." Scorpius said icily, recalling his own recent experience with the boy.

"My whole family has been in Gryffindor. Dad would be okay with me in Slytherin, he's already told me that, but James and Uncle Ron... and my Mum, would just..."

"Freak?" Georgina said helpfully. "My parents would be upset but they'd get over it."

"No matter what he says I know my Dad would be disappointed if I didn't get sorted into Slytherin." Scorpius said softly, he was just about to continue when there was another knock on the door. An elderly lady pushing a cart was standing in the corridor.

"Anything off the trolley dears?"

"No thank you, my Mum packed me a lunch."

"Yeah, I'm all set." Scorpius said, gesturing vaguely towards the trunk above Georgina's head.

"Could I just get a pack of chocolate frogs?" Albus asked as he pulled out enough money to pay for it. After she was gone Georgina pulled a container from her bag.

"My Mum's on a health kick so all I have is salad. Rather fancy salad I warn you but you're both welcome to some if you want it."

"I'll eat it as long as it's not tofu surprise again." Scorpius said, looking uncertain at the bowl in her lap. "My Dad made me sandwiches... for about ten people..." The three of them gave the package he produced a bemused look, inside were at least a dozen neatly packed sandwiches. "At least he doesn't forget that I'm a vegetarian." Scorpius said with a pointed look in Georgina's direction.

"That was one time!"

"Well, between the three of us we've got a decent lunch put together." Albus said, cutting off the agreement before it could start and dumping his package onto the empty seat beside Georgina. The next few hours passed quickly, between food and conversation, and it was dark before any of them realized.

"You two should probably change, we'll be there soon." Albus stood with a grim expression on his face as Scorpius used his seat to reach his trunk. "What's wrong Al?"

"My trunk is in my brother's compartment..."

"Good luck." Scorpius and Georgina said together as Albus slipped from the compartment. He ignored the stares and whispers that followed him down the corridor as he made his way to James' compartment. The older Potter was joined by Rose, Teddy, and two other boys Albus had never met.

"Al, hey. Finally done with your charity case? Move over guys, make room for my brother."

"Scorpius is not my 'charity case', James, he's my friend and I just came to get my robes."

"Scorpius? As in Scorpius _Malfoy_?" Rose asked, shocked. "Dad told us to stay away from him."

"No, Uncle Ron told you to beat him in every test, he said nothing to me. And Dad said I can be friends with whomever I want. I'll see you all inside." Albus had barely made it back to the other compartment when the train began to slow.

"Scorpius are you alright?" Georgina asked the slight boy. "You're not looking so good." He shook off her concern but Albus couldn't help but notice that his pale face was perceptibly tinged with green. They joined the stream of students down the corridor and stumbled onto the platform.

"First years! First years this way please!" Albus looked over to see the towering figure of Rubeus Hagrid holding a lantern above the crowd of children. Albus took his two new friends by their elbows and dragged them over to the half-giant.

"Hi Hagrid!"

"Hey, Al. I'd forgotten you was starting this year. Oh, and a Mister Malfoy too, you look just like yer Dad."

"Yeah, everyone says that..." Scorpius gave a nervous laugh, trying to avoid looking up into Hagrid's warm black eyes.

"Now there's nothin' wrong with that, yer Dad was one of me best students. Only one in his year to get an O in his N.E.W.T. for my class, if I remember correctly. Then again, he was my only N.E.W.T. student in his year…" This thought seemed to cheer Scorpius up, at least his cheeks had returned to their normal pale pink colour. "I don't know if I recognize you though, miss."

"I'm Georgina Goyle."

"Alright, I know yer Dad then. You're gonna be tall like him, I can tell you that now. How about yer Mum, did I know her?"

"Pansy Parkinson?"

"Oh okay, I see it now. You've got her eyes. Any friends of Al's are friends of mine, alright? Come down for tea sometime." Hagrid smiled fondly at the three of them before returning his attention to the other students. "Have we got everyone? Follow me and stay on the path." It was a ten minute walk down to the castle but the first glimpse of Hogwarts was enough to dispel any thought of being nervous. A thousand lit windows glittered in the night, beacons of light beckoning home a weary traveler. It was a steep climb up to the castle and many of the first years fell behind Hagrid's large steps when they had finally arrived. Hagrid led them to a large staircase inside and gestured them up it.

Standing at the top of the stairs to welcome them was a tall and handsome man wearing a scarlet tunic and brown dragon hide boots under his long black robes, with one hand resting on a ruby-inlaid sliver sword at his hip. "That's the Deputy Headmaster." Scorpius whispered and Albus looked sharply back at the man, trying to find the clumsy and goofy Neville Longbottom he knew in this strangely imposing figure.

"Welcome," He began and Albus heard a few girls behind him giggle. "To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Just beyond these doors is the Great Hall where your fellow students wait. Before you can join them you must be sorted into one of four Houses. During your time at Hogwarts your House will be like your family, fellow students you can go to for help and support. Your triumphs will earn you House points and rule breaking will lose your House points. The Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.

"Twenty-five percent chance..." Albus said grimly and was immediately hushed by Georgina who had her eyes glued on Neville.

"I'm sure each and every one of you will be an asset to whatever House becomes yours. And now, if you're ready, I believe everyone is waiting for us."


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the prope o J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi but I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out _who_ exactly me is. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

* * *

Chapter Two

The hall they were led into was massive, holding the four house tables and the Head table for the teachers. The ceiling was a rich midnight blue with thousands of twinkling stars. "It's b-bewitched, to look like the sky." Scorpius stuttered out, the green had returned to his skin, and Albus elbowed him gently to keep him quiet; talking wouldn't help either of their nerves. Neville carefully lined the first years up in front of the high table while a small girl brought forward a small three-legged stool and a patched, tattered pointed black hat.

The hall was silent for a moment, everyone staring with rapt attention at the hat which split at the brim and began to sing.

_Welcome all to great Hogwarts_

_A place of learning that has drawn you here_

_Four founders have made this school and all within it_

_Made it a place for all to hold dear_

_From the southern plains, of growing things and fertile soil_

_Comes bold Gryffindor, from rich lands and shining knights_

_He values those who show him bravery_

_Unafraid to go the extra heights_

_From the rocky western coast, of howling winds and sea folk_

_Fair Ravenclaw hails, of bright scholars and the setting sun_

_Favouring those of soundest mind and highest learning_

_For whom problems of logic are quickly undone_

_From the eastern hills, of hardy crops and fields of heather_

_Comes fair Hufflepuff, a farmer's child proud and unafraid_

_She values those of loyalty, hard work and fellowship_

_Students willing to give their aid_

_And from the northern forests, of harsh winters and fearsome beasts_

_Hails Slytherin, of oldest blood and greatest ambition_

_He chose those who use great cunning to achieve their ends_

_Who value, above all, the old tradition_

_So don't be afraid, try me on_

_And I will tell you where you should be_

_For the truest measure of merit_

_Lies where only I can see_

"When I call your name, you will come up here and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head." Neville was explaining as he picked up the hat so they could all see it.

"And let it condemn us to our fate." Albus finished wryly; Georgina actually hit him this time.

"And it will decide what House you belong in. Abesque, Fiona."

Fiona was a small blond girl who stumbled forward from somewhere to Albus' left. She perched on the edge of the stool and her large brown eyes disappeared under the brim of the hat. The whole hall was silent as the hat decided and then-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The gold strewn table burst into applause and made room for Fiona.

The next two sorted, fraternal twins Gerald and Alice Appleby, both became new Gryffindors and Bole, Lauren, a powerfully built brunette girl, became the first new Slytherin. Albus tuned out the sorting, more interested in Scorpius fidgeting beside him than the nervous strangers, after Davis, Alan became a Ravenclaw.

"Goyle, Georgina." Albus felt her jump beside him and she gave a nervous giggle as she scrambled forward and sat on the stool. The hat slipped over her head and a few, tense, moments later it shouted-

"RAVENCLAW!" Albus saw her freeze and heard Scorpius gasp over the applause from the blue table. Her steps weren't quite as fluid and graceful as they normally would be but she sat calmly at the table and smiled at everyone who reached over to shake her hand. Albus caught Scorpius as he began to sway slightly on his feet.

"Whatever happens it'll be fine." Albus whispered, trying to convince himself just as much as new friend.

"Malfoy, Scorpius." A hushed silence fell over the hall as Scorpius walked up, looking as if he was heading to his execution. Then the whispering started.

"Looks just like his father."

"Bloody Malfoy."

"Go home traitor!"

Neville silenced them with a look as he set the Sorting Hat over Scorpius' slivery hair. Albus could see the slight boy hold his breath as the hat deliberated.

"Maybe we'll get lucky, it'll get so sick from being near the blood traitor that it won't decide and they'll have to kick him out." Albus heard from behind him and when he turned around he recognised her as Kelsey Wood, the daughter of his Dad's friend Oliver.

"SLYTHERIN!" Albus clapped, he was one of the few who did. He, Georgina, and the polite applause from the staff table couldn't drown out the jeers. Not even the Slytherin table seemed to want to welcome their newest addition. Scorpius stood and, with all the dignity and grace he had inherited from his family, walked down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables to make his way to the back where there was an empty stretch of the table; and where he could be as far away from the stares as possible. He was halfway there, Neville had just raised the parchment to read the next name, when a ginger-haired Gryffindor stuck his foot out into the aisle and tripped him. The hall roared with laughter as he sprawled out onto the cold stone floor.

"Silence!" Neville's voice carried across the hall and his order was instantly followed. If Albus had never seen the man looking serious and professional he had certainly never thought that he could look this angry. "Mr. Weasley, detention, my office, two weeks. Bullying will not be tolerated at this school in any form; do I make myself clear?" His voice was tight and he nearly ripped the parchment as he opened it with more forced than necessary.

A tall handsome Slytherin fifth year, with thick honey brown hair and a prefect badge pinned to his robes stood from his seat and walked over to help Scorpius to his feet. Instead of returning to his seat he slid into one beside the slight boy.

The hall settled down as Neville continued to read names and sorting first years. The crowd dwindled and Albus knew it was almost time.

"Potter, Albus."

Albus suddenly felt very calm as he walked up and sat on the stool. It was in that moment before the hat dropped over his eyes, staring across the hall into a pair of bright silver eyes still tinged with unshed tears from when the Gryffindor had tripped him, that he knew. He made his choice.

_Ah, another Potter. I suppose you're wanting to be in Gryffindor, like your brother? Then again… You're a lot like your Dad._

'What do you mean? My Dad was a Gryffindor too…' Albus questioned the hat and it chuckled lightly in his ear.

_I've always thought he would have done better in Slytherin. Resourceful, determined, ambitious… Not unlike yourself. And then he goes and names you after one. I'm starting to think that I was right._

'Severus Snape, he told me. The bravest man Dad had ever met.' Albus remembered with pride. 'He tells me about another Slytherin too, my friend Scorpius' Dad, Draco Malfoy. We'd all be dead without him. I'd be proud to share a legacy with them, no matter what the rest of my family is going to think.'

_A Slytherin does what needs to be done, regardless of what others will think. It's a different kind of courage._

"SLYTHERIN!"

The only sound in the Great Hall was one person's polite clapping. One of the teachers, a handsome young man with wavy brown hair, a dark rich tan, and strange yellow eyes, who was obviously new and not from around here was quickly silenced by the professor sitting to his right. No one was sure how to react; a Potter, in Slytherin? A few people laughed; quite sure it was some kind of joke. Just the look on James' face would make everything worth it. Albus looked up at Neville, seeking reassurance from his family's friend, and relaxed at the sight of the easy, familiar smile across the man's face.

"Well off you go." Neville said softly, gesturing toward the Slytherin table, which seemed to have gotten over their shock, if the applause was anything to go by. Albus practically ran toward to table and sat across from Scorpius.

After the Sorting was over, Rose became a Gryffindor to no one's surprise, the feast began, mountains of food appearing on the plates in front of them. Albus noticed that Scorpius had lost the pinched, nervous look he'd had since Albus had met him and he finally got to hear is new friend laugh. The prefect who had helped Scorpius to the table leaned over the table to shake Albus' hand.

"I'm Cedric Bletchley; it's nice to meet you." Cedric settled back into his seat as the three of them piled food on their plates. Albus found all his favourites; apple pork, roast potatoes, even dried tomatoes baked in olive oil like his Grandmother made for last Christmas.

"Cedric, who was the teacher who clapped when I was sorted?" Albus asked after they had cleared their first helpings. He looked up at the high table, the gold eyed man was drinking from his goblet but his plate seemed completely untouched.

"I don't know. He's new this year."

"He must be foreign." Scorpius said absently as he helped himself to more stuffed mushrooms. He was a minute before he realised that Albus and Cedric were staring at him expectantly. "Well, when I was called up he didn't react the way everyone else did and he didn't find anything strange about a Potter being in Slytherin. He can't be from around here."

"He certainly looks foreign, ever seen someone with eyes like that?" Cedric asked, looking up at the strange new professor.

"I guess we'll find out in a bit." Scorpius said as the dinner faded from the plates and was replaced by the pudding. Bowls of different ice creams, cakes, tarts, and fresh fruit. After the feast was over and the rest of the food had faded off the plates leaving them as clean as when the students had arrived Headmistress McGonagall stood to address them.

"Welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts. I hope that everyone had a lovely and productive summer. Professor Mason has decided to travel around the world and will not be returning to us this year. His position as transfiguration will be filled by our recent graduate the new Professor Lupin." Applause greeted the statement, mainly from the Gryffindor table, all Albus could do was stare in a mixture of surprise and shock at the blue haired man sitting at the high table. "Also Professor Slughorn has decided to return to his comfortable retirement and we are pleased to welcome Professor Advocatt who will be taking his place as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. I hope that everyone will work together to make this transition as smooth as possible. Our new students should note that the forest on the edge of the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students. Our caretaker, Madame Rowan, would like me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes and is not to be used on each other." Here she cast a stern look around the hall, landing on the red-haired Gryffindor who had tripped Scorpius. "Students in their second year or higher can try out for their House quidditch teams by speaking with their captains. And with that said I believe that it is time for everyone to get a good night sleep for classes tomorrow, prefects will take their first years to their dormitories."

There was an explosion of sound as everyone got out of their seats and began heading towards the exit. Cedric suddenly became the perfect leader, running up and down the table to keep the Slytherin first years in their seats while telling the other prefects that they could head to the common room. A small auburn haired boy, who had been sorted shortly after Albus, slid over on the bench so he was sitting next to Scorpius. "I'm Eric Pucy." He said, formally shaking both their hands. "And Scorpius, I'd just like you to know that our Dads were friends while they were at Hogwarts, they were on the Slytherin quidditch team together, so we don't believe the lies the prophet has been spreading about you."

"My father knew Malfoy at school too." Damon Flint, a large grim looking first year who looked much older, sneered as he sat near them. "He says the rumours are as likely as they are true. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't be caught dead talking to someone like you."

"Speaking of someone with half a brain." Eric said disdainfully, looking Damon up and down. "I'm sure the Malfoys prefer much more intelligent company. People like Albus and the new professor who are open minded and understand that the writers for the _Prophet_ are prejudiced idiots." Damon was about to retort when Cedric returned, herding the rest of the first years.

"Ready to see where you'll be living for the new seven years?" He said cheerfully; Scorpius was just grateful that there was no need to continue speaking with Damon and eagerly joined the crowd in front of Cedric. "We have everyone? Good, follow me."

He led them out of the hall and down a set of stairs to the right. They walked for about five minutes before arriving at a blank stretch of stone wall at the end of a corridor. "Don't worry if you guys are lost. Most of your classmates will be willing to help you find your way and the professors know this school better than most of us. You can also ask any of the ghosts or the prefects; each house has six and you can find us by our badges. Behind me is the entrance to the Slytherin common room and the password is _draco occidentalis magnus._" As Cedric said it the wall behind him softly slid open and he led them inside.

"That password shouldn't be hard to remember." Scorpius whispered, smirking and Albus laughed quietly.

"Remember to keep our password secret from the other houses. It will change at midnight on the first of each month so remember to see one of the prefects for the new password or you'll be locked out and trust me sleeping in the corridor isn't fun. As you can see we're partially under the lake," Cedric said gesturing to the windows that cast a green-blue light around the room. "So please do not smash the windows. A flooded common room is not something anyone wants to wake up to. The boy's dormitories are down that corridor to my right and the girls down the corridor to the far left. Room assignments are posted on the doors, usually five to a room but I think we have one room of four. Class schedules will be handed out by our Head of House tomorrow at breakfast and I think that's all I need to mention for now so I'll see you all in the morning."

The group dispersed as Cedric disappeared into his dorm room and Albus led the way to find their room assignment. He found his and Scorpius' names on the same door; as well as Eric's. "No way." Scorpius groaned as they say the last name on their list: Damon Flint. "Seems we're the group of four."

"We out number him. Three to one. We'll be fine." Albus said in a forced supportive tone that Scorpius raised a perfect eyebrow at. "Okay, I'm worried too but it's us and Eric against him. I've been fighting my brother all my life, you've been fighting society all your life, and Eric doesn't seem like someone who's going to lie down and let Damon walk all over him. He doesn't stand a chance."

"I heard my name, what are we talking about?" Eric was behind them, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. "Hey, we're rooming together. That's great, right?"

"Yeah, it's great. Unfortunately Damon is our fourth roommate." Scorpius said, failing at hiding the slow smile spreading across his face at Eric's easy closeness.

"Aw well, let's grab the beds we want before he gets in here." Their trunks had already been brought in and the three boys took a moment to take in their new room. Five green draped four poster beds were neatly arranged around the long rectangular room. Their trunks were placed at the foot of the beds and there were nightstands beside each bed with a flickering gas lamp that cast the same soft blue light as in the common room. Scorpius suddenly felt very tired, all the stress of the day were finally catching up with him and he stumbled sleepily over to his bed.

"Do you guys mind if I just go to bed now? Talk to you in the morning?"

"Yeah, I'm ready for bed too." Albus agreed as he pulled his robes off and got changed into his pyjamas. Scorpius just curled up on top of the emerald comforter and fell fast asleep still wearing all of his clothes.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the prope o J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi but I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out _who_ exactly me is. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

* * *

Chapter Three

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty." Scorpius woke slowly and reluctantly to find a pair of bright green eyes staring down at him. His arm ached where it had been burned and his head felt like it was full of water.

"Al, leave me alone. Just let me sleep."

"I would but I got our schedules when Cedric took me and Eric down for breakfast and we have class in about twenty minutes."

"What!"

"You heard me. Get dressed and get your things together; I brought you some toast to eat on the way."

"You're the best." Scorpius said, hopping around on one foot as he struggled into a pair of trousers before pulling his robe on over top. They had been altered in the night with Slytherin crests and emerald green lining. "What class do we have first?"

"Transfiguration. With the Ravenclaws. And my cousin Teddy. Joy." Albus said dryly and five minutes later the two of them were pelting down the corridor to the classroom Albus remembered from Cedric's tour this morning. They had just run in as Teddy stood to begin the lesson.

"Ten points from Slytherin for being late boys. Take your seats."

"But we're-" Scorpius began but Albus elbowed him in the ribs and dragged him over to the two empty seats beside Georgina.

"I've known Teddy all my life." Albus whispered as they pulled out their textbooks. "He's too stubborn to ever admit that he was wrong. Dad says that he gets it from his mother but she died before I was born so I don't know for sure."

"He's Professor Lupin here, remember." Georgina reminded them gently as Teddy began his lesson. Albus would later describe the next hour and a half as 'showing off' and it was a generous assessment at that. The lesson was mainly a lecture on the metamorphmagus and very little to do with the magic involved in transfiguration. Even Georgina, who had looked quite keen throughout most of the lesson, was fading near the end.

"Tomorrow we will delve into the craft of transfiguration. The first spell is matches into needles and can be found on page four of your textbooks. Be sure to read the passage thoroughly before we begin. Enjoy the rest of your first day."

"You mean, go enjoy lessons where we'll actually learn something?" Albus asked, a little too loudly.

"Detention Potter, my office this Friday evening. And another twenty points from Slytherin." The green robed students groaned at the loss but made no further protest, there was obviously no point in arguing with their new teacher. Once out of earshot Georgina turned to them.

"Don't worry about the points. With a fair teacher Scorpius could easily win them all back."

"Georgie!" Scorpius hissed, flushing red as she gave him a half-apologetic look before rushing off to join the rest of the Ravenclaws.

"What?" Albus asked, shooting his friend a confused look.

"Shh, I'm brilliant!" Scorpius said dramatically, with an obvious overlay of sarcasm. "My birthday isn't until October, so I'm still ten. I wasn't supposed to be going to Hogwarts until next year but I got early acceptance from some test Mother made me take. I don't want everyone to know because it will just be one more thing for them to pick on me for."

"That's so cool. Does that mean you can help me with my homework?"

The blond never got a chance to answer, he was shoved from behind. The slight boy crumpled to the floor, books flying everywhere, and Albus had his wand drawn on the two Gryffindors in an instant.

"What is going on here?" The four of them looked up sharply to find Neville Longbottom striding towards them, looking almost as angry as he had at the opening feast. Albus quickly lowered his wand.

"Potter was about to hex us, Professor." The taller of the two said, sneering down at Albus. Neville took a quick glance downward, from the mess of textbooks that Scorpius had dropped to the small boy himself who was trying to pick them up. The professor bent down to retrieve one of the books before contemplating the four still standing students.

"Mulough, you have a good memory, perhaps you could remind us what was said during the opening feast?"

"That magic wasn't to be used in the corridors or on each other. A rule that has clearly been broken here."

"But that's not what you're talking about, is it Professor?" Albus said, emboldened by Neville's presence. "I haven't used any magic, in all honestly I probably would have if you hadn't shown up. But you're not talking about me. At the opening feast you said that you wouldn't tolerate bullying of any kind at Hogwarts." This time it was Albus who was sneering at Mulough and his friend.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor each and detention with Mr. Weasley. I expected more from my own house. Now both of you get to class." The two boys stalked off, grumbling to themselves, as Albus helped Scorpius to gather up the rest of his books. Neville handed over the last book, _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. "Now, I'm sure the two of you don't want to be late for my class, do you?"

"No sir." The three of them made the walk over to greenhouse one and found that the rest of the class had already assembled. Scorpius and Albus found seats beside Eric around the only table, on it rested a plant pot full of rich dark earth for each of them. Neville was about to begin his lecture when there was a knock on the door. Tiny Professor Flitwick stood framed in the doorway, barely taller than some of the Ravenclaw first years who stood clustered behind him.

"Sorry about the mistake, Professor." The charms teacher squeaked. "There was a scheduling mishap, the Ravenclaws are supposed to be in this class as well."

"I wondered why I had such a small audience and too many pots. Everyone come in and find a seat. For the first term we will be discussing plants that are as common to muggles as they are to wizards. The first one we will be studying is the herb asafoetida. Muggles use it as incense to bring good luck but can anyone tell me what we would use it for?" Scorpius' hand narrowly missed Albus' head it shot up. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"It's the primary ingredient in the antidote for love potions and can be used to strengthen healing drafts."

"Excellent, ten points to Slytherin. Now, since we all know that Madam Rowan is not going to be able to keep George Weasley's love potions out of Hogwarts forever; what do you say we grow some for our new potions master? They are simple plants to take care of, as are most muggle plants, and are your first assignment. Everyone come up here and take a package of seeds and plant them about two inches under the surface of the soil. All the tools that you'll need can be found in the cupboards at the back of the greenhouse." Neville said amiably even as he winced at the sharp sound of shattered clay, Eric had managed to knock his pot onto the stone floor and was now covered in earth. "Including the extra pots and soil, Mr. Pucy." The rest of the class passed in peaceful quiet, broken only by soft conversation and the breaking of Eric's second plant pot, Scorpius spent a majority of the time with his nose in the herbology textbook while Albus debriefed Georgina on what had happened in the hall after she had left.

The bell rang for lunch but Scorpius took his time packing up his bag and Albus had reached the greenhouse door before he realised his friend wasn't behind him. "What's wrong?"

"I just want to ask Professor Longbottom something, you go on ahead with Georgina. Save me a seat at lunch?"

"Yeah, sure." The small blond shyly approached Neville's desk where the professor was hunched over a lesson plan.

"Professor?" He asked timidly. "May I ask you a question?"

"Mr. Malfoy, you were the only one who contributed in today's lesson. I fear for my own teaching abilities if you have a question about it."

"It's not about the lesson." Scorpius said quickly as he busied himself unwrapping the bandages around his arm. "It's about this, sir." Neville went from looking relived to chalk white in an instant and stood so suddenly that Scorpius jumped.

"Who did this to you? I need you to tell me the truth Scorpius."

"One of our neighbours. I don't know her name, she doesn't talk to us much. Dad won't tell me what it is so I thought that since you went to school together you might know..."

"When parents choose to keep information secret there is always a reason. If you're father doesn't think you're old enough to know then I choose to respect his wishes. And nothing you say is going to change my mind." Neville added, catching the look on Scorpius' face. "I assume he's given you something to put on it?"

"Yes, sir." Scorpius said, slightly disappointed at the lack of any kind of answer; the faintly green tint to his professor's face stopped him from pressing the matter any further. He carefully rewrapped his arm, after promising that he wouldn't be showing the burn to anyone else.

"Hurry or you'll miss lunch. And Scorpius," Neville called when the blond boy was almost out the door of the greenhouse. "Remember what I told you at the sorting, don't forget."

"I won't sir." Scorpius said, breaking out in a smile as he walked out.

"What'd he say at the sorting?" Scorpius jumped a foot in the air as Albus joined his brisk walk back to the school.

"Were you listening in the entire time?"

"Not the entire time... I was curious. Are you mad?"

"No. You remember when I went up to be sorted? When everyone was telling me to get out? Professor Longbottom told me that no matter what other people said that I need to remember that Dad was a good man in a horrible situation." Scorpius said softly, looking back at the closed greenhouse door. "He won't tell me what happened of course but since when was that surprising? I think we're just going to have to find out ourselves."

"And how are we going to do that?" Albus asked sceptically. "Don't get me wrong, I want to know as much as you do but I where are we going to get the information?"

"The school does have a library, Al. Shouldn't there be books about the war?"

"Yeah, though they'll probably going to be... How are you proposing that we get a book from the restricted section?"

"I don't know yet. Give me a bit of time to figure it out and I'll have an answer for us. We need a way to get teacher permission for access to restricted books. The only problem is that only NEWT students would need those books for assignments."

"We could always sneak in. Madam Rowan and Madam Pince can't be everywhere all the time." They slid into seats across from Eric at the lunch table and began filling their plates.

"I heard the phrase 'sneak in'. I hope you two aren't planning on getting in trouble on your first day." Cedric warned as he sat down beside them. He gave Scorpius a pointed look. "You can't afford it; especially you Scorpius. For now don't give them any more reason to single you out."

"You're right Cedric, we were just wondering what was in the forbidden forest. That's all." Scorpius said, with a bright charming smile that he must have learned from his father.

"The forbidden forest is out of bounds because it's full of creatures who think that humans would make a nice light snack. If you take Care for Magical Creatures Professor Hagrid sometimes take us in to teach us about the centaurs or the thestrals, not that many of us can see them."

"What are thestrals?"

"They're a sub species of the winged horse but they can only be seen by someone who has seen another person die. I consider myself lucky not to see them. That lesson usually brings up painful memories for the students." Cedric said, more calmly than he expected of himself. "Just don't go into the forest by yourselves; you haven't learnt enough magic to be able to protect yourselves."

"Alright. If you say so." Scorpius said, in a mock placating voice that made Cedric hit him lightly in the head. There was a soft flutter of wings and everyone looked up to see a lone owl fly into the great hall.

"We never get mail at lunch." Cedric said; surprised look only increasing as the bird came to rest before Albus' plate.

"That's my Mum's owl..." Albus said looking at the bird curiously. That curious look, however, turned to a look of horror when the bird raised its wing to reveal a red, slightly smoking, envelope. His hand shook as he took it from the old owl and the bird flew off before he had opened it; it was the lucky one.

"ALBUS POTTER! HOW DARE YOU GET SORTED INTO SLYTHERIN HOUSE! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO COME DOWN THERE AND DEMAND THEY PUT YOU IN A HOUSE FITTING OF YOUR LINEAGE! YOUR FATHER AND I ARE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED BY HOW YOU'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS!" Ginny's magnified voice filled the great hall from floor to ceiling and drew attention from everyone in the room. Albus couldn't decide whether to be mortified or angry with how his mother was seeing the situation. Then the worst of it happened. "AND TELL THAT MALFOY BRAT TO STAY AWAY FROM YOU! YOU DON'T NEED THAT KIND OF BAD INFLUENCE!" The howler burst into flames and lay smoking on the table with Albus staring at it in fury; Scorpius' cheeks burning red with humiliation and Cedric's hand on his shoulder to try and be comforting.

"What in Merlin's name was that?" Eric exclaimed as he rushed in to the great hall and took a seat beside Albus. "You could hear her all the way down the hall."

"That's great to know, thanks Eric." The brunette gave him a weak, apologetic smile before helping himself to a ham sandwich. "Cheer up Scorp, I don't think you're a bad influence and I certainly don't wish for you to leave me alone. No matter what my Mum says. She reads the _Prophet_." He added the last sentence in a hushed whisper; as if it was a great scandal that one shouldn't speak of. He succeeded in gaining a small smile from his friend but not much of one.

"There's another owl heading this way."

"That's my Dad's owl." Albus felt his stomach drop, yes it hurt that his Mum was upset with him but Albus wasn't sure he could handle his Dad being angry as well. The letter the second owl dropped in front of him was in a plain beige envelope, which was already a good sign. He unfolded the parchment and read the letter out loud. "_Al, I am terribly sorry about the way your Mum's been acting. If I'd known she was sending the howler I would have tried to stop her. I hope this letter partially makes up for it. There is nothing wrong with being in Slytherin; the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin too. Perhaps it told you that. I'm glad to hear you've made some new friends in your house. I hope Scorpius and his father are well. Look forward to seeing you at Christmas. Love, Dad._"

"Slightly different tone than the last one."

"I knew Dad would understand. He always understands me." Albus said, pride over riding his mother's letter. Scorpius gave him a weak smile in return, not reaching his eyes. "I can't wait for you to meet my Dad. You should come over for a bit at Christmas. It would be fun."

"If you're Mum would let me." Scorpius said quietly, eyes straying to the pile of ash left on the table from the howler.

"Forget about Mum's letter. She's being silly." Albus said, quickly brushing the grey dust from the table. "She'll come around. You're great; it's not possible to dislike you. You and your parents should come for Christmas dinner at our house. That way everyone would see how normal you are and this will stop."

"I've never had a Christmas dinner before."

"What do you mean; you've never had Christmas dinner? What do you do for food on Christmas?" Eric asked, shocked.

"Dad and I don't celebrate Christmas so we have our big dinner on the twenty-first instead. Mum wants us to celebrate Christmas and she and Dad fight about it. A lot." Scorpius said quietly, blushing slightly at the statement. "You should come. It's one of the days our house elf has off so she goes to visit her family in Wales and Dad cooks way more food than the two of us could ever eat." Albus looked at him sharply, noticing his choice of words. "We eat in Dad's room around the fire and I get to stay up past midnight. I just don't know if we're going to be able to do that this year... Does anyone know when the holidays start?"

"It's different every year. I'll ask McGonagall the next time she gets all the prefects together for a meeting." Cedric promised. "But, we should all be heading off to classes. What do you have next?"

"Charms, with Professor Flitwick. That's just down the corridor right?" Cedric nodded and the three boys headed out of the great hall. "Broken anything since herbology, Eric?" Albus asked, playfully digging their friend in the ribs.

"Shut up. So I'm not particularly coordinated, what's wrong with that? Professor Longbottom didn't care."

"That's because he can be just as clumsy." Albus said as they found seats in the charms class they shared with the first year hufflepuffs. "He broke Mum's best teapot by accident last Christmas."

"You're on personal terms with one of our professors?"

"Yeah, well... I thought I was. I've never seen him so serious before. And he certainly didn't have a sword the last time I saw him."

"Liked to keep a difference between a work life and a private one I guess." Scorpius said faintly as Professor Flitwick bustled into the room and began his lesson.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi but I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out _who_ exactly he is. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry for the delay updating, I've had this chapter written for a while but life has gotten in my way. I also meant to address the reviewers in the last chapter so I'm going to answer the questions I've been reciveing.

**Question #1**: **Why are Scorpius and Draco not celebrating Christmas?** There's a short answer and a long answer for this question. The short answer would be, one must be Christian in order to celebrate Christmas. The longer answer has to do with the Malfoys being a pureblood family and being very proud of being a pureblood family. Magic is a phenomenon that originates in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt thousands of years before the beginning of Christianity. The old families pride themselves on keeping their ancestors' culture and traditions so they wouldn't have converted. As for Draco, Malfoy is a French surname and therefore originates from the Roman occupation of the Celtic province of Gaul. What they were called before then we don't know but we can assume that they were living in that area and therefore follow a Celtic based religion with Hellenistic influences. It's more a character detail than a major plot point will probably be mentioned later when Scorpius defends being pureblood.

**Question #2: Will you put in [insert plot point] and/or have it [insert pairing]?** This answer is very simple: no. Not unless it is a very minor thing. I have this entire story planned out, from first year to and epilogue, so nothing major is going to happen that is not already planned. I will not be changing my pairings and I'm sorry Draco/Hermione people but this is not going to be a Scorpius/Rose ship. Now, I could tell you what pairings I am going to use but that would ruin the plot of the second year; I've got one more main character to introduce (no he isn't an OC) before any romance happens.

**Question #3: Who is the Weasley in chapter 2 who tripped Scorpius after the Sorting?** He is Fred Weasley II, he's George and Angelina's son, yes he's canon and yes George married his brother's ex-girlfriend, and his little sister Roxanne is in Scorpius and Albus' year.

**Question #4: Where's Draco? **Wow, this is the exact same question I was asking myself from Gobet of Fire onwards... Draco is coming back guys, don't worry about that. The problem with bringing Draco back before I have planned is that there is no non-redundant plot lines involving him before Christmas, which is what I had planned to be Draco's first really big plot moment. He's going to be around in letters and there's a point later where he's at the school with some other parents. This story is mainly about Scorpius and the reason I put Draco as the secondary character has to do with his effect on his son's life and the difference between how Scorpius sees his father as opposed to how society sees him.

**Question #5: Where's Astoria?** Asteria/Astoria Greengrass, whose name is spelled differently depending on what you're reading though both ways are canon, is Draco's wife for those who have just read Deathly Hallows. And, unlike Draco, won't be featuring heavily in my story. She'll be mentioned a couple times, mainly because Scorpius knows things about his parents that a ten-year-old shouldn't, but she's not going to be very important.

I think that's all the questions I've had in reviews so far. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you're confused about something, I know I sometimes assume people know everything that I do and gloss over details that I think I've already mentioned. I probably won't be doing a Q&A every chapter but all questions will get answered.

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Chapter Four

Dinner was uneventful; at least not like lunch, there were no surprise howlers. Though it gave plenty to think about. Georgina had run over to ask if they had attended a potions class yet; if they'd met the new professor. The Slytherins had met him briefly that morning, to hear the debriefing of the house rules. Even Cedric wouldn't stop talking about his first potions lesson.

"Brilliant, completely brilliant. Way better than Slughorn." The prefect was saying between bites of chicken. "He's got experience beyond potions too; other branches of magic that aren't even taught here at Hogwarts."

"You know that probably mean he's proficient in the dark arts, right Cedric?" Lucy Blackwood, the other fifth year Slytherin prefect, said snidely from across the table. Cedric just shot her a glare.

"Not necessarily." Scorpius said quickly, they had been treated to a shouting match between the two fifth-years in the corridor between charms and history of magic. It hadn't been a pleasant sight and it had taken Headmistress McGonagall to tear them apart. "_Hogwarts: A History_ has a chapter on the branches that aren't taught here. There's plenty other than the dark arts that our founders didn't think we needed. Alchemy for one thing."

"No one asked for your opinion Malfoy." Lucy spat as she pushed away from the table, knocking over Lauren and Eleanor who had been sharing the bench.

"Hey! What's wrong with her?" Lauren asked as she righted the bench and helped her much slighter friend to her feet.

"I ask myself that every day." Cedric said in a monotone. "Along with 'how the heck did she become a prefect?' She certainly could care less about the other students."

"I heard that Professor Advocatt taught at a different school before coming here but it was destroyed last year." Eleanor said softly as she returned to her salad. "And he seems sad sometimes, when he's not talking to people; I noticed at lunch." Her statement drew their attention to the teacher reclining in his seat at the high table; goblet in one hand talking to Professor Lupin. The plate in front of him was empty again.

"Does he ever eat?"

"Not that I've noticed." Albus said, craning his neck to get a good look at the high table. "Maybe he's actually a vampire and there's blood in that goblet."

"No, it's wine." Scorpius said, automatically and everyone turned to look at him. "I saw him pour it; he's sharing that pitcher with Lupin and McGonagall. Besides, I recognise the colour; Dad drinks it on special occasions. Did you hear what school he taught at? I think I recognise him but I can't remember where..."

"No, I just over heard a couple older students in the hall between classes. I don't even know if they were correct or not."

"I smell our first trip to the library." Albus said, reading the expression on Scorpius' face. "Want to go after dinner?"

"Love to. I'm done, when are you going to be ready?" Scorpius asked; there was an underlying hint of 'stop eating I want to go now' and Albus looked down at his half full plate with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm done now."

* * *

"This is useless Scorp! What are we even looking for?"

"I know I've seen his picture somewhere before. Find books about other magic schools or famous wizards or something! Are you going to help me?"

"You're doing a better job than I ever will. You're the one who knows what book we're looking for." Albus said standing and wandering over to the history section of the library. "I'm going to look for books on the war, maybe there'll be something over here. You keep looking; I'm still interested in our professor."

"You don't think I'm going to find anything, do you?"

"I don't think either of us are going to find anything to be honest." Albus scanned the dark shelves of their history section. "Or maybe I am..."

"What?" Albus was standing on tip toes to reach the second highest shelf. "How did you even see the title on that?"

"Doesn't matter. Give me a hand catching it when I pull it down." The leather bound book was bigger than they anticipated and neither had been able to catch it. Albus came away with a split lip and Scorpius was seeing stars for a few moments after it bounced off his head.

"This thing better be worth it..." Scorpius grumbled as he pulled it to the table they had left their things on. There was a layer of dust on the pages from over the summer and Albus passed his hand across the cover to reveal the title. "_The Second Great War_. That's what we're looking for, right?"

"I don't know... Let's see if we can find names we recognise." Albus opened to a random page and they found themselves looking at a black and white photograph of a tall, imposing snake-like man. His photo was sneering up at them with such hatred that Albus quickly turned the page. "Okay, I know what I'm having a nightmare about tonight."

"Agreed... Who was that?" Scorpius scanned the reverse side of the page. "He must be... Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, most powerful dark wizard ever to walk the earth. And your Dad defeated him Al."

"My Dad? My calm, laid back, absent-minded Dad defeated the dark wizard? I knew he was there but he never said that he fought." Scorpius turned the page to find a picture of seventeen year old Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Hey, that mark your neighbour burned into your arm." Albus pointed out a small picture at the top of the page. "The Dark Mark, branded into..."

"The arms of Lord Voldemort's followers." Scorpius finished faintly, falling back into the chair behind him. "Why would someone do that?" He gently touched the bandages on his arm. "What are they saying about me? About- This isn't about me, it's about Dad. That's why he couldn't take me to a hospital because they'd think he was one of Voldemort's followers and was trying to turn me into one."

"But he isn't, you'd know." Albus tried to assure him. "I mean, whoever wrote this book certainly thinks so but you'd have noticed right? You've only lived with him for ten years."

"I've never seen is arms." Scorpius said quietly, tears blurring the image in front of him. "He's always really careful about that... Al, what if he is?"

"He isn't."

"How do you know?"

"If my Dad defeated Voldemort why would he get into shouting matches with the _Prophet_ editor to defend one of his followers?" This thought seemed to cheer Scorpius up a bit. "Your Dad might not want to talk about it but I could owl my Dad and ask what happened to people who were on the other side of the war and survived. Help me put the book back."

They were half way back to the Slytherin dungeons when Scorpius groaned. "We forget to finish finding professor Advocatt. Maybe I'll have a look through the books I brought."

"You brought books other than our text books? When are you going to have time to read?"

"I need some light reading. I didn't think I was going to have any friends remember?" Scorpius pointed out as they walked up to the blank stretch of wall that hid the Slytherin common room. "Draco occidentalis magnus."

"What does that even mean? I get that you like it because your Dad's name is in it and it's easy to remember but..."

"Draco is the Latin word for dragon, so all species of dragons have it in their name. Our password is the official name for the standard western dragon, also called the European dragon. Dad's name is in the Hogwarts motto too for the same reason." The two of them took a seat beside Eric in the common room, who had his herbology book open in his lap.

"How'd your foray into the library go? Any new information?"

"About Professor Advocatt, no. But we found out that all the historians think that my Dad was in league with the dark wizard."

"I'm not surprised that people think that, look at the _Prophet_, but it's not exactly possible is it?" Eric said pensively. "I mean, all of You-Know-Who's followers-"

"You-Know-Who?"

"That's what most of the adults call him and they get twitchy when you say his name. My Mum likes him, that's why we don't talk to her much, so she calls him the Dark Lord because it's more polite. Her parents were some of his followers and they're in Azkaban. That's why Scorpius' Dad can't be; the ministry put everyone who was in jail."

"Why is it that your Dad talks to you about the war when we have to sneak around the library and find a book on it?"

"Maybe because my Dad wasn't personally involved in the war. He wasn't even in the country at the time. He was in New Zealand studying the effects of kiwi quills in love potions. Your parents actually fought, they might be a little more reluctant to talk about what happened."

"Professor Longbottom just says 'your Dad will tell you when he's ready'. Knowing Dad he'll never be ready. I think he wants me to stay little for the rest of my life." Scorpius said, curling up in the chair and pulling his charms homework from his bag.

"Don't all parents?" Albus said brightly. "Don't tell me you're actually doing that now? It's not due until next week; we have the entire weekend!"

"Albus, we have charms tomorrow therefore the homework Professor Flitwick assigned will be due tomorrow. Unless you're planning on doing it in herbology I suggest doing it now. Besides if we do it now I can see if I can find anything about Advocatt before we head to bed."

"You're going to be insufferable when it comes to homework, aren't you?"

"Just be glad you don't have Georgina on your case."

"What are you working on? Charms? I was doing the reading for transfiguration." Eric said holding up the _Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration _on his lap.

"I read all the books over the summer."

"You've finished the readings for transfiguration? All of them?"

"No," Eric and Albus sighed in relief. "Not just transfiguration, I'm finished the reading for all our classes."

"You've finished all the set books?"

"Yeah, Dad was kept late at work a lot over the summer so I had quite a bit of free time to myself. The books are so interesting I thought I'd read them and get a bit ahead before I got here. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"My Aunt Hermione would love you." Albus said faintly.

"At least I'm not like Georgie, she's already memorised all the books and some extra ones about Hogwarts."

"Which you've read, of course?"

"Well, yes. They're interesting."

"So," Eric said in a business like tone. "What's today's reading about?"

"Oh, no way. There is no way I'm telling what was in it. You read it yourself just like everyone else. And if you keep asking I'm just doing to do my homework in our room and lock you out. Have fun sleeping in the common room tonight guys." Scorpius threatened, beginning to rise from his seat.

"No Scorp, don't leave." Albus said quickly, seizing the blonde's wrist to sit him back down. "Would you look over our homework when we're done though? Not all of us are as smart as you." The sarcastic ending to his question earned him a sharp strike to the back of the head.

Two hours and a charms assignment later the three of them stumbled sleepily into their dorm. Damon was already in his bed, snoring away, and Scorpius curled up into his bed with the book he'd been given for his birthday last year to read. He was flipping through restlessly, trying to find a certain passage, when he paused on a page. The still illustration, what had drawn him to the page when he'd first read it all those months ago, a young man with smouldering gold eyes dressed all in black stared back at him.

"Found him."


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry about the delay of update, exams and the holidays were both rather hectic and stressful. I have most of chapter seven written at this point so everything is progressing at a somewhat steady rate. I'm been trying to upload a trailer for this story for those who might be interested but I've been having some technical difficulties with youtube. It should be up soon and I'll probably have a link in the next chapter.

This chapter is mostly the first potions lesson, and is as such the shortest chapter so far (sorry about that), and a couple people have expressed an interest in getting to know Advocatt better. Now Advocatt is a character from the Nippon Ichi game _GrimGrimoire_ and I can't get too deep into his backstory without getting into the plot of the game which I don't want to do because this isn't a crossover. If you want to know more than what is in my story google, wikapedia, and youtube (the video titled 'Let's Play GrimGrimoire Part 17' will give you the best idea of his character) will probably tell you all you need to know. Personally I think anyone reading this would enjoy GrimGrimoire since it was made partially in honour of Harry Potter; the Headmaster's name is Gammeldore, need I go on? Advocatt is the Snape-ish teacher; he's creepy, bat-like (honestly, he's got a bat wing), teaches the main character's least favourite subject, said main-character blames him for _everything, _and he's actually the good guy.

* * *

Chapter Five

"We finally get to see what all the hype is about." Albus was ecstatic all throughout Monday's lunch. "Potions at last."

"Too bad it's with the Gryffindors." Scorpius mused, looking over at the red table where James and Rose were whispering and glaring over at the Slytherin table. "Your cousin is in our class."

"Yeah, I haven't spoken to her since the train ride here. I know she's going to have something to say about this." Albus said, indicating his green tie and robes. "You never said if you found anything else about Professor Advocatt besides that picture you showed me."

"Well, there's the article that goes along with that picture, which you would know too if you'd bothered to read it." Scorpius said dryly. "I want to ask him about it in class today. "

The potions classroom was just a short walk away from the Slytherin dorms and the large dungeon room was filled with cupboards and shelves piled high with all sorts of ingredients. Tables were arranged in groups of four and Albus quickly claimed one at the very front of the class. "Al!" He looked up quickly to see Rose calling to him from the back of the classroom. "Why don't you sit with us?" She asked, gesturing to the table at the back where two of her new friends were already sitting.

"I kind of want to sit at the front Rose, everyone says the new professor's great." Rose didn't look convinced if her expression was anything to go by. "Besides, I would like to sit with my friends."

"But they're Slytherins."

"_I'm_ a Slytherin. Why can't I sit with them?"

"But you're not really. I mean, it was just a mistake. A horrible one. Dad's furious about it." Albus felt is stomach drop even though that was the outcome he had expected. "Aunt Ginny's coming down tomorrow to fix everything and get you put into the right house."

"The right house? Everyone always says that the purebloods are elitist snobs but listen to yourself! Ever thought that maybe Slytherin is the _right house_ for me? Maybe that I asked the Sorting Hat to put me there instead of Gryffindor? I'm not changing houses Rose." Albus said with a finality that shocked most of the students in the room. He stomped back to the front of the classroom to sit with Scorpius and Eric.

"You know that's going to get back to your Mum, right?" Eric asked, grinning while Scorpius turned green.

"Yeah, that's what I'm counting on. If Mum hears it than Dad will too and he'll know that I took his advice about the Sorting. My Dad was nearly in Slytherin, so there's nothing wrong with it."

"I just can imagine it now: she'll blame this all on me and my Dad."

"And I'll set her strait, don't you worry."

"Good luck with that." Scorpius said quietly as Professor Advocatt stepped into the room. He was wearing a black red laced vest and brown and white stripped leggings under his black robes.

"Good afternoon everyone. I am Advocatt and I am your new Potions Master." The entire room was quiet as he stared around the class; gold eyes sharp. "Well, since you all are first years I guess you don't have anyone to compare me to, do you?" He asked brightly and half the class laughed; the green half. "Today we'll be going over basic rules of the class; yes all that boring safety stuff. I don't think I have to tell you not to splash your neighbour with corrosive material or not to pour rat spleen down someone's shirt. Please do not seek to prove me wrong." He gave the class a quick glance, noting the firm separation between green and red. "Even though I know you will... Now, does anyone have any questions before we begin?" Albus knew to duck Scorpius' hand this time as it shot immediately into the air. He opened the large book to the page with Advocatt's picture.

"Is this really you Professor?"

"Where did you find this?" Advocatt's voice had gotten suddenly softer and more wistful as he picked up the book to have a better look. "Yeah, that's a really old picture but it's me."

"Why are you teaching here then, sir? Why not teach at a school that teaches sorcery?"

"The previous headmaster of Hogwarts recommended me for this post actually. He tutored me in potions a while back and when he died he put it in his will that I was to be considered for this job. I guess Headmistress McGonagall thought I was a good fit."

"You must be awfully brave." Scorpius said quietly. "To teach even though there's so much prejudice against the people of your race."

"What do you mean?" Albus asked, turning back and forth between his friend and professor, voice rising with curious excitement. "What does he mean 'people of your race'?"

"Wait a second." Rose interrupted as she raised her hand to get attention. "If you're Advocatt the famous sorcerer-"

"I would hardly call myself famous."

"Why would Professor McGonagall let a devil teach here? Wouldn't that put the lives of every student here in danger?"

"I've been a teacher most of my life, and trust me when I say that's quite a bit of time, and no one has ever had cause to vilify me about the lives of my students."

"I heard you killed a boy."

"Get out!" His eyes had turned red and everyone jumped as his voice dropped in pitch. Rose scrambled up, collecting her things, and fled the classroom quickly followed by two of her friends.

"Professor?" Albus said quietly, after Advocatt had slumped on the side of his desk, drained completely by his outburst. The professor looked up at him warily; surely expecting another attack.

"Yes?"

"Professor Lupin, his Dad taught here and he was a werewolf. So there shouldn't be anything wrong with you teaching here. Wouldn't that be racist? Or something?"

"And Professor Hagrid," Eleanor added in her light whisper-like voice. She and Lauren were sitting at the other front table of the room. "His Mum was a giant. I think it's great that there's diversity among the staff here. Lots of schools wouldn't do that."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, Miss Higgs. Now if anyone has more questions about me, or my people, or better yet the class you're in; speak now or we'll start." He waited for a minute, looking around the classroom, before standing back up and returning to normal. "Good. Now today, for your first potion, I thought we should start off simple. If you would turn to page seven of your textbooks you will find the instructions for a potion to cure boils. We have an hour and fifteen minutes left of class and I do believe that it is more than enough time to complete the potion. All the ingredients you need can be found in the cupboard at the back of the classroom. I am here if you have any questions, proceed."

There was an explosion of sound as everyone got up to grab ingredients. By the time Albus and Eric got back to the table with their supplies Scorpius was already set up and beginning his potion. "How did you get everything so quickly?"

"My Dad's really into potions, he got his N.E.W.T. level in it, so he gave me enough ingredients to get me through first semester." Scorpius said quietly as he crushed snake fangs in his mortar. Eric set down his armful of things and grimaced at it.

"I don't know if how clumsy I am is going to work well with potion making..." He said, looking uncomfortable at Scorpius' carefully aligned glass containers.

"Just remember to take your cauldron off the fire before adding the porcupine quills at the end. You'll melt your cauldron if you don't." The blond said, gently patting him on the arm.

"That's not making me feel any better Scorpius." Eric said as Scorpius gave him a reassuring look. The younger boy helped him set up and explained the instructions to both Eric and Albus. Everything had been going fine; well the Slytherins had been going fine, Advocatt had given Aubery Finnegan's cauldron a slightly terrified look before lifting it off the fire and adding some water. It wasn't until fifteen minutes to the end of class that anything serious happened. Advocatt and most of the class jumped as a loud bang echoed through the dungeon. Eric stood, shocked stiff, before what used to be his cauldron. The thankful thing was that his potion vaporized instantly when his cauldron had shattered into several pieces and none of it ended up on anyone. At least, no liquid got on anyone. Eric, Albus, and Scorpius were all covered in a thin layer of ash and a harsh smell of sulphur invaded the room.

"What happened? Is everyone alright?" The smoke had nearly cleared from the room, leaving a coughing student body behind, as Advocatt warily approached the source of the explosion.

"I swear I took it off the fire before adding the quills, isn't that the only thing that can go wrong?" Eric asked quietly as he attempted to brush soot from his robes.

"No, there are many things that can go wrong with a potion." Advocatt said gently as he used magic to remove the ash from the three students. "What did you to right before this happened?"

"I took the cauldron off the fire and added the porcupine quills; then it just exploded. I followed the instructions; I swear." Eric was shaking, imagining explaining to his family that he had already destroyed his cauldron.

"It's alright, I can fix this. That goes for everyone; whatever happens I can put your cauldron back together." He said kindly, looking around at the rest of the class. "Now, let's have a look at what you've put in." He looked over Eric's selection of ingredients and paused over a small bottle on the desk. "What's this?"

"Nettles, I found it in the cupboard."

"This is nettle tea with an infusion of hellebore."

"Is that different?"

"Yes. This is what younger students are given to use instead of pure hellebore. And when you add it with another organic poison, like the venom in the snake fangs you crushed, and then reduce the heat you get... interesting results. So read the labels on the bottles more carefully next time, alright? As long as no one is hurt. It's only a few minutes to the end of class so would everyone please fill a flask of their potion and leave it on my desk before cleaning up."

"What about me sir? My potion is kind of... gone." Eric said quietly, staring down at the jar that had ruined his potion.

"Let's see... Write me up a paragraph on the reaction between hellebore and snake venom. I have faith that everything would have been fine if you hadn't taken the wrong ingredients." Advocatt said cheerfully as Eric grimaced at the extra assignment. "In fact, I like that. If, for some reason, you cannot hand in a potion at the end of the class then you should write up a small assignment on what went wrong and why. And that ends our lesson for today. Class dismissed."

* * *

"Okay, I'll admit he knows what he's doing, unlike me, but he did give me extra homework." Eric said as the Slytherins walked out of the dungeons to the courtyard.

"It's not that bad. One paragraph on why your cauldron exploded. It's better than giving you a zero on the day's assignment." Albus said comfortingly, Eric gave him a reproachful look.

"How about I help you with it? I know where the chapter on hellebore is in our textbook. It's volatile around other organic poisons and takes a while to react. That's all you really need to know." Scorpius offered. "I wonder what your cousin's going to have to do, Al. An essay on why we shouldn't accuse our professors of being murders?"

"I'm wondering why she said it in the first place. You're the expert Scorpius, anything in that book of yours that would give us a hint?"

"It's... complicated. Devils are known for being able to take the souls of other beings to make themselves stronger, that's why they're often seen as evil, because they feed off living energy instead of food like other creatures do. But according to that article he's never killed someone in order to sustain himself."

"Well, it's her problem not ours." Eric said with a finality that made the other two roll their eyes. "What do you say we head back to our room and work on some of our homework? I think Professor Longbottom is trying to kill us with that essay he set. Who can write two feet of parchment on daisies? They're not that interesting."

"They're more useful than you think. He's trying to get us to think beyond the magical plants and discover the properties of more common ones. If you read-"

"The textbook, I know. Help us with it?" Scorpius just rolled his eyes at the two of them and turned on his heel to head towards the great hall.

"How about we get dinner first?"


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

A/N: Hi everyone! If anyone wants to check out the trailer for this story I'll put a link my my profile. doesn't support hyperlinks or hyperlinks presented as text...

I hope you guys like this chapter and thank you for reading.

* * *

Chapter Six

Despite Rose's threats Mrs. Potter did not show up the next day. In fact, September had gone past without any major incidents. It was just the beginning of October, the leaves had begun to change colour down by Hagrid's hut and the air had turned cool, when the quidditch trials started. It had been another incident between Scorpius and Troy Moran, one of the Gryffindor first years. One that had made Albus the youngest chaser in Hogwarts history. It had started with flying lessons.

"You're looking green again Scorpius. You can't be _that _nervous. Haven't you been flying before?" Albus was asking as they walked down to the courtyard to where Madam Bell was already standing with the first year Gryffindors. "Your Dad was seeker for Slytherin when he was at school, didn't he take you flying like my Dad did?"

"I was on a broom once, to disastrous results I might add, with Georgina and Uncle Greg. I never really liked quidditch much when I was younger so Dad never pushed it. Besides he's not allowed to fly anymore so it would be a little hard for him to teach me."

"What do you mean he's not allowed to fly anymore?"

"I don't really know but when I asked him he said that our family healer told him he wasn't allowed because it would put too much stress on his body. He was hurt pretty badly when he was a teenager and he never fully recovered from it. He won't tell me what happened of course but I'm getting used to that. But the point is, the last thing I want to do is go over there and make a fool of myself in front of all the Gryffindors who hate me."

"You need to stop worrying so much Scorpius. I'm the one who's probably going to break his neck." Eric said happily as they joined him on the Slytherin side.

"Quiet boys, five points from Slytherin." Madam Bell called from across the line and Scorpius elbowed Albus to prevent him from protesting. Rose threw them a smirk from behind the teacher's back. "Now, since everyone is paying attention, I want you all to step up to the left side of your broom and stick your right hand out on top of it. When you think you're ready say 'up' in a strong commanding tone."

The courtyard suddenly became loud with the first years' voices. Albus got his on the first try while Eric and, to his own surprise, Scorpius got theirs on the second. Albus was pleased to notice that his cousin's broom did a funny little flip on the grass and stubbornly refused to get back up.

"Now if everyone has their broom I want you to mount it. Hold on tight or you could fall off the end." She walked up and down the lines to check their grips and stopped before Albus. "I don't know who taught you to hold the broom like that but you are going to hurt yourself."

"My father taught me how to fly a broom when I was six."

"I don't care. It's wrong, change it." Madam Bell said icily and turned on her heel to return to the top of the line.

"Which is strange considering Rose is doing the exact same thing!" Albus hissed and settled for glaring at their teacher's back.

"When I blow my whistle each of you will kick off from the ground. Hover in the air for a moment and then lean forward to come back down. Ready, three, two, one." The sound of the whistle made Scorpius jump. He was the first to rise, quickly followed by Albus.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"You're whiter than normal and you're going to break the broom handle if you hold it any tighter." Albus laughed and he leaned over to pat his friend on the back. "Just relax a bit, nothing's going to happen." Scorpius gave him a weak forced smile as Eric flew past.

"This is easy, guys!"

"Eric! Look out for that-" Scorpius and Albus grimaced in unison as they heard the crash. "Tree..."

"I'm okay, don't worry." The brown-haired boy called from where he was crouching among the tree branches. There was a cut across his cheek and leaves stuck in his robes but he was otherwise unharmed.

Scorpius was finding that flying was nowhere near as hard or traumatic as he had thought. The feel and freedom of being in the air, wind brushing his hair off his forehead, was calming and exhilarating at the same time. He was circling higher than the rest of the class when Madam Bell called them to the ground.

"I have to go in for a moment. Class will resume momentarily but until I am back I expect you all to stay firmly on the ground. And will someone please get Mr. Malfoy down here before I take more points from Slytherin."

"I can do it." Troy Moran drawled as he mounted his broom again. He was a scrawny Gryffindor who prided himself on being the only child of the famous Irish Quidditch player. He waited until Madam Bell had left before taking to the air.

"I don't like the way this is going." Eric said softly, his eyes glued on the Gryffindor. Moran circled the blond for a few moments, Scorpius had tensed visibly and had both knees locked on the broom handle. "He's going to fall off if he sits like that. It's the first thing Madam Bell told us not to do." Moran pressed his advantage and grabbed the front end of Scorpius' broom.

"Leave him alone!" Albus acted on instinct, grabbing a rock from the ground and throwing it straight at Moran; hitting him square in the back of the head. It wasn't hard enough to knock the other boy out but he did tumble off his broom and, madly grabbing at Scorpius' broom, brought the blonde down with him. Madam Bell came rushing back onto the field and caught Moran halfway to the ground with a spell but it was only a quick thinking passing Hufflepuff who sprinted under Scorpius that saved him.

"It's okay; you can open your eyes. I've got you."

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking Potter?" Madam Bell was red in the face from anger and had her hand on Moran's shoulder. Behind her the Gryffindors were snickering to themselves.

"I was thinking I had to do something to stop Moran from knocking Scorpius off his broom."

"Twenty points from Slytherin for endangering a student's life."

"Madam, I don't mean to be rude, but how many are you going to take from Gryffindor then? I saw what happened and I'm not going to defend what Mr. Potter did but it seems to me that Mr. Moran was just as guilty of endangering someone's life." The boy who had caught Scorpius had set him down and come over to where the confrontation was happening. Eric and Lauren went over to see if Scorpius was alright.

"I don't think it's really any of your business how many points I do or don't take from anyone, Mr. Carson."

"Well then I'll take twenty points from Gryffindor myself!" That stopped the gloating looks on their faces. Albus looked sharply up at their defender; he was a tall, lanky sixth year with shoulder length curly blond hair and bright blue eyes. "I also noticed that you didn't do anything to help Mr. Malfoy. If I hadn't stepped in he might be taking a trip to the hospital wing right now."

"Mr. Carson would you please take Mr. Potter to his head of house to be given a proper detention." Madam Bell said in a tone of voice that left the Hufflepuff no room to argue back. He sighed and turned to march out of the courtyard with Albus. Lessons had just got out as they approached Advocatt's dungeon office a group of fifth years were just leaving, several of them hiccupping uncontrollably, including Cedric who glanced curiously at the two of them and walked over.

"I didn't expect you see you two here. What happened?" The prefect asked between hiccups.

"I might ask you the same thing Ced."

"Advocatt wanted us to review the hiccupping solution from last year. Some people are dealing with it better than others. We're fine, though you look a little shaken up."

"He just saved Scorpius' life." Albus injected, smiling up at the Hufflepuff who nodded and shrugged.

"Madam Bell wanted me to bring Mr. Potter up to Professor Advocatt to get detention but I frankly don't see the point. You've got good aim though Albus I'll give you that. I've never seen a throw like that. Got someone in the back of the head who was ten feet up, maybe more. Ever think about trying out for chaser in later years?"

"Well, I want to be on the quidditch team but my Dad's been helping me with seeker training. But if you think I'd make a good chaser there's no harm in seeing how things go."

"We do need a third chaser for this year..." Cedric said slowly, a contemplative smile spreading across his face.

"But first years aren't allowed on the house teams." Albus protested.

"Your brother and father were on the team in their first years no reason you can't be if you're the best person for the job."

"No," Cedric backed up, surprised, at the powerful tone in the sixth year's voice. "Not while I'm keeper."

"You're a keeper?" Albus asked as Cedric just laughed at the concerns.

"Yeah, we're both captains for our houses." Cedric said throwing an arm over the Hufflepuff's shoulders. "Wait, have you two been properly introduced. Al this is Sam Carson Hufflepuff prefect, keeper, and quidditch captain. He's also my boyfriend." Cedric said proudly, blushing lightly at the statement.

"Inter-house unity?" Albus joked as Sam knocked on the professor's door.

"Cedric, have you stopped hiccupping yet? Your potion was a bit strong." The young professor asked kindly wincing as Cedric hiccupped lightly. "Guess not. What brings you three to my office?"

"Albus prevented Troy Moran from dumping Mr. Malfoy off his broom today in flying class and Madam Bell would like you to give him detention." Sam explained as they took seats in the hand carved wooden seats of the small cozy office. The burning fireplace made the room warm and an incense burner in the corner made it smell like lavender and rose.

"Why come to me? I can't give Mr. Moran detention. He's not in my house."

"No, Madam Bell wants you to give me detention." Albus clarified.

"Why? What did you do?"

"I hit him. In the head." Albus said slowly, looking down at his lap. "With a rock..."

"Was he hurt?"

"Well he was a little dazed but I don't think he's _hurt_ exactly. Maybe his pride."

"Was for a good reason?"

"Yes, he was trying to hurt Scorpius."

"Did Madam Bell take points from Slytherin?"

"Yes, twenty. And then Sam took twenty from Gryffindor for what Moran did to Scorpius."

"Then I didn't see what you guys want me to do." Advocatt said shrugging and getting up to bustle around his shelves to clean up from his class. "It seems to me that if she's already taken points then there's not much I should do. I'm not going to give you detention for something that's already been punished. Is Scorpius alright?"

"Yeah, took a spill off his broom but I caught him. I don't know how much he'll fancy flying afterwards but he's okay."

"Shouldn't you get points for Hufflepuff then? Twenty, just like Albus and Troy lost? That's how the point system works right?"

"Thank you sir." Sam said, shocked and Cedric grinned at him.

"Professor, before I forget," Cedric said, leaning forwards in his chair as the other two got up to begin leaving. "Could I have permission to put Albus on our quidditch team as the third chaser? All our good players graduated last year."

"What?" Sam and Albus asked at the same time, turning sharply to face the Slytherin prefect.

"Why do you need my permission? I thought you were the captain?"

"Yes I am and I have final say in who ends up on the team but we need head of house permission to put a first year on the team. They usually aren't allowed their own brooms even." Cedric said evenly, crossing his fingers between his knees.

"I don't see why not. But only if you think that Mr. Potter is the best choice for the position."

"Of course, sir, thank you." Cedric was practically dancing down the hall to the great hall for dinner. "We are going to have a killer team this year."

"If Headmistress McGonagall allows it." Albus and Cedric looked sharply at the Hufflepuff.

"Why wouldn't she?" Albus asked. "She made allowances when James became seeker for Gryffindor in his first year."

"But there you have it. For _Gryffindor._McGonagall herself will be fine with it I'm sure, but if enough other teachers protest she won't have any choice. I mean, yes I'm upset that you now have a better chance at beating us but I'm not going to complain just to get Albus kicked off the team. But you know how the other teachers are about the Slytherins." Sam said slowly, putting an arm around Cedric's waist. "For the past five years, maybe more, Gryffindor has won the house cup. And every time it's never Gryffindor in the lead by the end feast. Every year someone is given enough points during dinner to put the lions in the lead."

"What?" Albus asked, stopping dead in the middle of the hallway. "Doesn't anyone do something about it? Say something?"

"Yeah, one person, just Professor Longbottom." Cedric said grimly. "Ironic isn't it? He's the only one who's actually fair to us."

"I knew there was a reason I always liked Neville."

"Did you just call one of our professors by his first name?" Sam asked, raising and eyebrow at the first year.

"Yes, I'm sorry." Albus said quickly as they entered the Great Hall. "It's just, he's a friend of my Dad's so he's at all the family gatherings and I've just gotten used to it I guess. Do you think that there's going to be a problem with me joining the team? I mean, you were right, both my brother and my Dad were on the quidditch team when they were in first year."

"We'll see, I'm assuming that means you defiantly _want_to be on the team then?" Cedric asked as he waved goodbye to Sam as the Hufflepuff headed over to his own table. Albus sat down in his customary seat beside Scorpius with Eric and Cedric across from him.

"Be on what team?" Scorpius asked as Albus helped himself to the spaghetti dinner.

"Quidditch team, Cedric and the Hufflepuff captain Sam think I'd make a good chaser for Slytherin." Albus said happily as Eric's jaw dropped and Scorpius gave him a curious look.

"But first years hardly ever make the team." Eric said, feigning jealousy. "Bloody Potters!"

"You're the youngest chaser in Hogwarts history. There has never been a first in the position. That's amazing Al!" Scorpius said happily. "There have been first year seekers and one keeper back in 1792."

"How exactly do you know that?"

"_Hogwarts A History_, it has a chapter on quidditch. I knew you guys liked it so I re-read it a couple days ago. I wanted to know how the game worked for when you inevitably make me go to the matches. I guess I'm going to practices as well. Eric and I could bring breakfast down."

"Wait a minute, our friend gets on the quidditch team and we suddenly become a meal service?"

"Come on Eric." Cedric said. "We could really use the help. We practice pretty early some days and we usually don't get breakfast."

"And I can't carry seven meals on my own."

"It would be a great moral booster. We haven't won a game since I was a third year and Madam Bell started refereeing. We get fouled no matter what we do. This is my second year as captain and I don't want to lose this year just because we don't have a good enough attitude."

"You're sure it would help?" Eric asked uncertainly.

"It's only four times a week that we have to get up that early to train. It's not as bad as it seems, promise. We get some inconvenient training times because we have to pick slots last for the pitch. Including that nice afternoon break on Fridays." Cedric said the last part quietly as Albus gaped at him.

"Why is there even a pitch slot for that time?"

"There wasn't... Sam and I petitioned to have it included last year. We get it every other week so we still get that break. I want to win that cup this year so we are going to train as often as we can." Cedric said with a nod before wrapping his dinner in a napkin and walked out of the hall.

"Where's he going?"

"Who knows? I thought quidditch was going to be fun but I have a feeling that I am going to die..." Albus winced as he piled roast beef and potatoes onto his plate.

"It won't be too bad. Our Dads are alive; they were all on the quidditch team while they were here." Scorpius said brightly as he pulled his potions textbook from his bag and laid it open on the table beside him.

"My Dad was a chaser; I could owl him if you have any questions." Eric offered. "We don't have potions homework do we?"

"No but I thought that I would have a look at our next potion. You might like to as well considering what happened during last class." Scorpius said offhandedly, still looking down at the book.

"Yes, I blew up my cauldron; can we let it go now?"

"Eric," Scorpius said as he looked up, expression serious, one eyebrow raised. "I'm a Malfoy, we don't let things go." He held it for a moment, the haughty aristocratic look, before cracking and the three of them started to laugh. Albus hit him gently in the back of the head. "Hey! That was uncalled for."

"You're such a brat."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Scorpius said, smiling sweetly at his two friends before turning back to his book. Eric looked at Albus.

"Is he always like this?" He asked, and Scorpius threw a piece of parchment at his head without looking up from the textbook.

"I don't know, ask Georgina. She's the one who grew up with him."

"You two are talking about me like I'm not here, yet I'm the one who's the brat? Maybe I should have been home schooled."

"You were going to be home schooled? I guess that makes sense with how everyone treats you here. Did you know who was going to teach you?"

"Dad of course. He taught me all my lessons before I came here and he got Os in almost all his O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. levels. He's technically qualified enough to teach here." Scorpius said proudly. "I wonder how he is, I owled him to tell him how September went and how classes are going. I got a reply back but he's not sounding good... I think he and Mum are fighting again." Scorpius ended quietly, his pale cheeks taking a pink hue. "It's not like that anything new though." He said quietly, trying to not sound bothered. "They don't get on well at the best of times." He turned resolutely back to the textbook not noticing the concerned look Albus shot Eric.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

A/N: Hi guys, sorry for the wait. School and life kind of get in the way of things... I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm going to try to get the next one up sooner than the last update but my exams are in April and I have this feeling that they're going to take over my life pretty soon.

I was on the the story traffic page for my account (isn't the hit by country feature one of the coolest things you've ever seen? Hi International Readers!) and it differentiates between hits and visitors, does anyone know what that means? I'm assuming it has to do with whether or not you're logged in or no but I'm not sure which is which.

* * *

Chapter Seven

"Eric come on, hurry up! They'll be done soon." Scorpius said as he steadied a stack of several packed boxes in his arms. He and Eric were in the Great Hall packing the promised breakfast for the Quidditch team. It was Monday morning, Albus had been called out of their dorm still half asleep before dawn and even now the sun was just rising to illuminate the food on the long house tables. "And remember that Lucy doesn't eat bread, so don't pack her any toast. I don't even want to know what she'd do to us if we did."

"You know," Eric said from around his own stack. "This is a lot of work when we're not even on the team."

"Don't be like that, we promised."

"No you promised and then gave me that kicked puppy look until I agreed."

"And they're going to be so happy when we show up." Scorpius said happily as he pushed open the doors leading outside. The mid-October morning was cool and crisp, with dew still on the grass and the leaves just beginning to turn.

"That's a lot of food for the two of you, isn't it?" A voice asked from behind them. Eric jumped and the top two boxes slid from his grasp. Neville, who had surprised them, caught both before they hit the ground, balancing a covered tray in the other hand.

"Thanks." Eric said softly as the professor placed them back on the stack. "We're bringing breakfast to the team."

"Cedric does enjoy getting people up early, doesn't he? I'm sure they will appreciate it. I have to actually learn the rules this year; Headmistress McGonagall has asked me to referee. I hope training went well, I'll see you in class." Scorpius and Eric stared after him before grinning at each other.

"Professor Longbottom is refereeing." Scorpius said slowly as they continued their walk to the pitch. "That means Slytherin won't get penalized for every little thing."

"Cedric's going to be over the moon." They had just ducked into the change room as it started raining. The team was just coming off the pitch, Cedric giving everyone last-minute remarks.

"Kate, you need to stay closer to the goal posts. We shouldn't be able to get behind you to score."

"Oh leave her alone Bletchley." Lucy, Cedric's rival prefect, was one of the two beaters for the team. The other was Lauren's older brother Henry, a friendly sixth year who was easily the largest person on the team.

"No, he's right. I shouldn't have let some of those in. But to be fair, I did save all of your shots Ced." Kate Mason was the Slytherin keeper, she was one of those `sunny-side-up' kind of people who was always ready to laugh and look at a more positive point. "I'm favouring my left side again; all the ones that went in were in the right hoop." A bludger had smashed her right arm early last year and she had been out for the first two games. She hadn't quite recovered for the last game of the season and had sprained it badly reaching for a save. Kate had been reluctant to over extend ever since but was slowly getting back to how she had been before. She was the first to notice Scorpius and Eric standing by the door. "If that's food I love you both forever."

"We thought you guys might like some breakfast." The loud cheers of the team told them everything they needed to know and everyone had dug into their meal after a few minutes.

"This is brilliant, thank you." Matthias Brokavist, the tiny mouse-like sixth year seeker, said thickly around a slice of buttered toast.

"Okay everyone, if you can tear yourselves away from breakfast for a moment, I have a few last minute things before we head off to class. I think this went really well for our first practice of the year and I know we did... less than great last year but-"

"We came in last Ced." Henry said dryly and Cedric shot him a glare for interrupting.

"As I was saying, I know we didn't do well last year but as long as we stay positive and work hard I'm sure we'll do better this year."

"And what's the strategy for not getting fouled left right and centre for flying too close to the other chasers? That brat Dominique Weasley got a penalty shot because I took the quaffle from her." Toby growled, the paper box crumpling in his hands.

"Like I said, we need to work hard so that our games can be as clean as possible. I don't want to lose on penalty shots. Again..."

"I don't think that'll be a problem this year." The whole team turned to look at Scorpius' soft comment. He and Eric shared a small, secretive smile.

"Alright, I'll bite, what do you two know that we don't?" Kate said, finally breaking the silence.

"Well, when we were heading down here we ran into Professor Longbottom on his way to the greenhouses. Headmistress McGonagall asked him to referee instead of Madam Bell this year." Scorpius' announcement was met with a few moments of silence before the older students burst out laughing.

"Okay, good joke, but Professor Longbottom, honestly? You can barely drag him out to watch his own house play let alone want to actually be part of it."

"He went to all my Dad's games but that was a long time ago." Albus added softly.

"I didn't even know he could fly..."

"Okay, okay, everyone calm down. What would you guys rather have a referee who's biased against us or an unbiased referee who may not know all the rules?" Cedric called them all back to attention. "This is even more reason to play a fair game we cannot do anything that will make it look like we're taking advantage of this change. I'll see you all Wednesday morning, have a good day."

"Yeah," Matthias said softly as he pulled on his school robes. "Just make sure you have your bed picked out in the hospital wing for when Gryffindor decides to take advantage of it. 'No, honestly Professor, you're allowed to hit people in the head with your elbow.'"

"Someone got up on the grumpy side of the bed this morning." Kate remarked, pulling his hood over his face.

"Hey! Not all of us can be Ms. Sunshine and Rainbows all the time like you Kate. Besides, cynicism and pessimism are Slytherin traits too." Kate just laughed before slinging her arm over his shoulder and pulling him from the room.

"They're going out?" Albus asked faintly.

"Opposites attract I guess." Cedric said brightly as he shouldered his schoolbag and shooed them out. "You three are going to be late if you stay here much longer. Try to stay out of trouble; the professors can ban players from quidditch. Don't give anyone a reason to." The prefect warned as he headed off in the direction of the school.

"Says the guy who regularly gets into screaming fights with Lucy in the halls." Eric muttered as they trudged through the rain towards the greenhouse. The rest of the class had already arrived and they quickly sat down in the seats Georgina had saved for them. The Ravenclaw had her eyes fixed on the door leading to the back room, where they could hear Neville organizing for the class, and nervously brushing her hair.

"Georgie, what's wrong?" Scorpius asked slowly.

"Nothing, why would something be wrong?" She said brightly, straightening in her seat as their professor bustled in holding the same tray Eric and Scorpius had seen him carrying earlier. He set it in the center of the long table they were all seated around and removed the cover. Several people screamed and Kelsey Wood even jumped from her seat in alarm. On the tray were several plain pots containing a dark green plant with tentacle-like sprouts waving lazily through the air.

"You can't bring devil's snare into a classroom!" Kelsey shrieked, staring wide-eyed at the plants.

"Of course he can." Eleanor said quietly, peering curiously at the green plants. "But since Devil's Snare is a N.E.W.T. level lesson it can be assumed that those plants are something different. Especially when none of them are actively trying to kill us."

"Precisely, ten points to Slytherin. Now can anyone tell me _what_ they are? Yes, Mr. Malfoy."

"Those are Flitterblooms." Scorpius said immediately. "They're often mistaken for devil's snare because of obvious similar appearances and the fact that they cling to anything that touches them." As he was talking he leaned over and gently touched the nearest plant. A slender green sprout curled around his hand. "But they're much easier to get away from, don't grow to the same sizes as devil's snare, and have gold speckled undersides to their leaves." He turned over the leaf he was holding to show the rest of them what he was talking about before sliding his hand out of the plant's grip and returning to his seat.

"Very good, ten points. Can anyone else tell me what they're used for? Yes, Ms. Goyle."

Georgina froze with her hand still raised and Scorpius had to elbow her in the side before she realized she should be answering. "Oh, um, their sap is used for inflation drafts and the gold on the bottom of the leaves is bioluminescent so some people use them as lamps."

"Excellent, ten points to Ravenclaw." Georgina flushed pink to the roots of her hair and sank back into her chair giggling faintly. "Now today we're just re-potting them and there's enough for you to work in pairs. This is the best way to work with them, as you can see they're very friendly." The flitterbloom closest to Lauren had gently grabbed a lock of her long brown hair. "One person can hold them while your partner can get the new pot ready for them. You have the rest of the period."

The flitterblooms turned out to be more trouble than they had originally thought they would. Despite Eric's attempts at helping, which concluded in having to repair their pot three times (thank goodness Professor Flitwick taught _reparo_ in the last lesson), and that their flitterbloom was quite content to sit on Scorpius' head and cover his eyes with its leaves, Scorpius was still the first to successfully root the plant into a new pot. After the class was over they were all tired and caked in earth.

And it was only the first period of the day.

* * *

"I would really like to just go to bed now." Eric was saying as he fell onto one of the soft leather couches of the Slytherin common room.

"It's barely past three in the afternoon. And we have work to do today." Scorpius said as he pushed Eric's feet off the couch so he could sit down and pulled his books and parchment towards himself. "You both have to finish that essay Professor Binns set, that I feel obliged to remind you, is due tomorrow. I will be working on the ingredient charts for Professor Advocatt, if you need me." With that he disappeared behind _Magical Drafts and Potions_.

"Is it fun having a brain that works that fast?"

"Finish your essay Albus."

"How do you get everything done? I'm barely keeping up and I don't have Cedric's fanatical Quidditch practice to deal with." Eric said, grimacing at his own pile of books and half finished assignments. "I still have that essay for herbology to do, you know that one that's due tomorrow, and the astronomy charts for Wednesday."

"Well, I'm going to do Professor Eurkhart's question set for defence against the dark arts tomorrow. Though I don't know why we're bothering, she's blind as a bat."

"That's not very nice Al." He looked up from his seat to find Lauren leaning over him, her bag in one hand _A Standard Book of Spells _in the other. "Eleanor and I are meeting some guys from Ravenclaw to work on Flitwick's charms set questions. Anyone care to join us?"

"No you go have fun. The Ravenclaws in our year are all really nice."

"Why are you working on charms now? It's not due until Friday." Albus said quickly, looking through his sack of work to find the list of assignments Scorpius had made to keep them on track, which Eric had promptly forgotten about. "Right?"

"The problems about levitation, yes they're not due until Friday. I'm assuming that Lauren and her friends have already finished the rest of their work and are now getting later assignments out of the way." Scorpius said, without looking up from his book.

"Sure, that's what we're doing." Lauren said, laughing somewhat nervously. "For the sake of your argument though, what else is due before then?"

"Well, there's Professor Binns' essay on the goblin riots of 1492 that's due tomorrow, the ingredient chart that Professor Advocatt set for Wednesday, a flitterbloom diagram for herbology on Thursday, the essay for herbology tomorrow, and last week's question sets for transfiguration and defence against the dark arts due tomorrow." Scorpius recited calmly, looking up at Lauren as she stood over him. "Why do you ask?"

"I completely forgot about the transfiguration work for Professor Lupin."

"We have that class with the Ravenclaws I'm sure it will still be a viable study topic with the guys you're meeting." She bolted off to the girl's dormitory and returned a moment later carrying _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ under her arm.

"Thanks guys, talk to you later."

"I have both those to do today. And my match from our first practical transfiguration class still looks like a match." Eric said sitting up and pulling his books out of his bag.

"Don't worry. Not even Scorpius managed to turn his match into a needle." Albus stated comfortingly, gaining a glare from over the potions book.

"At least when I left the lesson my match was made of metal." Scorpius said snidely ducking back behind his book again.

"I have no idea how Cedric's managing it; he's getting ready for his O.W.L.S and working on that quidditch schedule he's got the team on." Eric commented, looking over to a table across the common room where the fifth years could barely been seen behind a collective pile of books and spare parchment.

"And making time for his boyfriend." Albus added offhand.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, he's dating Sam the Hufflepuff prefect who saved Scorpius last week during our flying class."

"Sam's really nice; he caught up to be after class on Friday to see how I was doing. He thinks I'm going to go into shock or something. I'm feeling fine though and Cedric offered to teach me how to fly properly, since we don't get another lesson. I still don't know if I should..."

"You should, flying is way too much fun to miss out on."

"Eric you flew into a tree thirty seconds off the ground."

"It was still fun. And it didn't hurt as much as you think it would. Though I was picking leaves out of my hair for quite a few days after..." That set them off laughing again, so hard that one of Cedric's friends had to shoo them to their dormitory in order to restore quite to the common room. Damon was lying on his bed when they came in and sneered up at them when he noticed them.

"Your stupid owl's been pecking at the window for ten minutes. I have half a mind to curse it."

"You wouldn't dare." Scorpius hissed as he opened the top of the window to let his small eagle owl Mayflower into the room and letting her rest on his bedcovers.

"Once again, he has half a mind." Eric whispered to them and Albus had to stifle a laugh. "Who's the letter from? Your Dad?"

"Yeah," Scorpius scanned the parchment letter, brow crunching in worry. "He and Mum aren't getting on much; she's staying at her sister's place for a few days. I'm sure that's not the whole story but knowing Dad, I will never find out the whole story. But, the good news is, he's not a Death Eater!"

"You asked him?" Albus gasped, climbing on the bed and gently shifting Mayflower so he could see the letter.

"Yes, I figured the direct approach would work best, it usually does. He didn't exactly say he wasn't, not in so many words... He didn't give an answer at all. This large paragraph there is just telling me why I shouldn't be reading about such things let alone asking or speaking about them, but that's a good thing. If it was true he'd be denying it." Scorpius said in a matter-of-fact tone and a triumphant smile on his face. "Dad thinks he's good at lying and always tries to when he thinks it's his only option. When he doesn't have anything to hide he just avoids subjects that he doesn't want to talk about."

The three of them looked up as they heard Damon begin to laugh. "The Malfoys not being Death Eaters, that's funny. Everyone knows that your Grandfather was in the Dark Lord's inner circle. My Mum told me that, she was ever so surprised when I said that they had even let you into Hogwarts, with your family's history and all."

"Shut it Damon you have no idea what you're talking about. My Dad's not talking to my Mum because she and her family were supporters of You-Know-Who during the war. I'm still allowed in. Our families don't affect how the school treats us. Headmistress McGonagall isn't prejudiced like some people." Eric snapped icily but Damon was still looking at Scorpius.

"You really have no idea what he did, do you?"

"I think I'm going to work on Professor Advocatt's homework now." Scorpius said quickly, placing the letter into the drawer beside his bed and locking it. He curled up on his bed, resolutely facing away from the other three, and began filling in his chart. Damon smirked as Eric and Albus glared at him.

Scorpius didn't speak to them for the rest of the afternoon but didn't get much of his work done. Damon's words kept chasing themselves around his head, creating theories each more horrible than the last. His eyes kept straying to the white bandages on his arm; the scar underneath had almost faded but was still a reminder of what others thought; and what might be true. He barely touched the dinner Albus brought him and Eric was sure he heard pillow muffled tears long into the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

A/N: Hey everybody, long time no see. Exam season has started so I'm crazy busy studying, or procrastinating on studying as the case may be... Either way I haven't had much time to write between school and the original novel/screenplay I've been trying to start for ages. But exams mean summer break is soon (I get summer break starting at the end of April, University is amazing!) and that means more writing. I have the rest of this story planned out, it's going to be around nineteen chapters long, and I've finished the teaser trailer for Year Two.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a bit longer than the others have been (a.k.a. it's the first chapter I've ever written that's been over 5000 words long!), and I'll hopefully have the next chapter up soon without so long of a wait.

* * *

Chapter Eight

October passed more quietly than it had come in. Scorpius was more withdrawn and inward turned, becoming more obsessed with his work and was much less aware of anything else. He would brighten when spoken to and put a smile on for the teachers but his friends noticed the difference. The first day after the letter from home Georgina had caught up to Albus and Eric to question the change. Halloween was fast approaching and the Great Hall was beginning to change as well; Hagrid had grown pumpkins the size of cottages and had carved them into huge grinning jack-o-lanterns that stared at the assembled students from the four corners of the hall. When they came down for breakfast Halloween there was a cloud of live bats flying over the tables.

"They're so cute." Scorpius was saying as he fed a piece of apple to a small one who had landed on the Slytherin table.

"Happy birthday Scorpius." Eric said as he slid onto the bench across from Scorpius and Albus and placing a small brown wrapped parcel on the table in front of him.

"Thank you. And happy New Year."

"Okay, guys, New Years isn't until December-January." Albus said slowly, looking at Scorpius like he had finally lost his mind. "It's the end of October."

"Samhain, Halloween, is the New Year in the Celtic calendar, the one our families follow." Scorpius explained calmly. "It's the end of the harvest when everyone is preparing stores for the winter. Having the year begin in January doesn't make much sense; nothing new is happening we're in the middle of winter."

"I'd never thought about it before." Albus said thoughtfully as he pulled his own present for Scorpius from his bag. "Well then, happy birthday and happy New Year."

"You guys didn't have to get me anything you know."

"Yeah right, come on Scorpius, it's your eleventh birthday it's kind of a big deal." Eric insisted brightly. "Besides, you'll be getting your Hogwarts acceptance letter any day now, actually take classes with your year."

"Very funny. No I do not want to repeat any time here thank you very much. I may like classes but I don't want to do them twice. Not like our parents had to. Aunt Pansy likes to complain about having to redo her seventh year."

"They had to redo their year? Why?" Eric asked, missing is plate with a scoop of scrambled eggs as he focused his attention on Scorpius.

"No one was given proper lessons in the last year of the war. That book we found said that it was because some of Voldemort's supporters had taken over the school. They can't have been good teachers." He laughed lightly, trying to lighten the mood of the conversation.

"Thus the reason I haven't heard of this until now. Neither of my parents were still in school at that point." Eric pondered, helping himself to breakfast. "And since it's New Years it's time for resolutions. I'm going to do all my homework on time, or at least try to anyway. I need to stop procrastinating so much on assignments."

"Don't we all." Albus agreed, gently displacing the bat who had landed on his plate looking to be fed. "I guess I have to do one too? How about, I will try to get along better with my brother and cousin. Even though they have been rather horrible to me and my friends. My resolution is to be the bigger person.

"I'm going to stop worrying if my Dad's a Death Eater or not." Scorpius said simply and the other two looked at him sharply. He hadn't spoken of it since the letter he had received. "Thinking about it is just depressing me, it's not something I can change either way, and it's his business not mine. I can't change the past, good or bad, so there's no point in dwelling upon it. That's my New Year's resolution."

"Well good, depressed Scorpius was getting a little old." Eric said jokingly, putting an arm around his friend's shoulders. "But now that we've gotten that sorted, open your presents."

"Alright, alright, if you insist." He picked up Eric's parcel first, the badly wrapped brown package that had been set down on his plate. The paper came away easily, Eric had tried wrapping it the muggle way, since none of them knew sticking charms yet, but had forgotten the tape. Scorpius gasped, he held a small leather bound journal in his hand.

"I promise I didn't read your journal but about a week ago I noticed that you were getting down to the last few pages and I thought you could use a new one."

"Thanks. It's a dream dairy actually, not a journal. I used to have nightmares and Aunt Pansy told me once that she used to write down all the dreams she could remember in the mornings. It helped her with her nightmares so I thought I'd give it a shot. It's been about a year now." Scorpius explained, gently tucking the book into his bag and taking the present Albus handed him. Scorpius raised an eyebrow at his dark haired friend. "You got me _Quidditch Through the Ages_, honestly? Thank you Al."

"Well, _Hogwarts: A History_ can only get you so far. Dad was a little confused to why I was asking for a copy since I've read his so many times but I think he was happy that you're learning the game."

"Is this the only book you've actually willingly read?" Scorpius asked; his expression amused as Albus shrugged lightly.

"I like Quidditch and I read books about things that I like. Everyone does, you just happen to like subjects that help you with the school work." The three of them laughed and Albus noted happily that Scorpius smile finally reached his eyes again. A few minutes and a 'Happy Birthday Happy New Year' from Georgina, as she passed them to join her friends at the Ravenclaw table, the Great Hall was suddenly filled with owls. The amount of birds that flooded the room had amazed Scorpius the first few times it had happened; he had never seen so many owls in one place. They had an owlry at home but Mayflower only had three roommates.

And speaking of owls from home, Scorpius' plate and cup were displaced by the powerful wings of his Dad's eagle owl, Greyhawk, Mayflower's father. He was getting older, he had been given to Draco by his mother when he first came to Hogwarts, and silver was starting to seep into his dark brown feathers. A thick letter was clasped formally in his beak and he looked around disdainfully at the food after Scorpius took his package.

"Don't turn your beak up at it, Dad spoils you with the special food he makes. If you're hungry then this is your lot. You're welcome to anything on here but if you don't like it then get Dad to make you something when you get home." Greyhawk screeched and looked at Scorpius pointedly with his large lamp-like gold eyes. "Wait, you're smaller than you were the last time I saw you. Why haven't you been eating? The only reason you'd have lost weight is if you haven't been eating and that means Dad isn't cooking..." Greyhawk screeched again, affirming Scorpius' response. "Why hasn't he been cooking?" He stood quickly from the table, disturbing everyone on the same bench. "But you can't tell me because you're an owl!"

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is." Lauren said calmly as she picked Eleanor and Albus off the floor and righted the bench.

"You're right Lauren, of course you're right." Scorpius said, breathing deeply and taking out a quill and parchment. "But in case something is really wrong I'm going to send a quick note to Uncle Greg and Aunt Pansy so they can check up on Dad."

"That's a good compromise, that way you don't have to worry." Eleanor said brightly as she slid the envelope towards him. "Your letter seems kind of thick to just have parchment in it. I don't know about everyone else but I want to see your present." Scorpius smiled and went a little pink at the attention before opening the parchment envelope Greyhawk had brought and his present fell into his hand.

"Dad's pocket watch..." Scorpius gasped staring down at it, the small silver watch with a crest on the front, a raven intertwined with roses.

"What's with the bird? Not something I'd expect on the Malfoy family crest. Weren't you all in Slytherin?" Eric asked, snapping Scorpius out of the daze he had fallen into staring at the watch.

"To the best of my knowledge, yes, all my ancestors who were _Malfoys _were in Slytherin. But my great-grandfather Abraxas married my great-grandmother, a woman named Lydia Raven. This is her family crest and this watch has been passed down to the oldest child since her great-grandfather. I guess I'd never thought about Dad giving it to me; at least not until I came of age."

"It's really beautiful, it must be handmade." Briar Dean, one of the girls sharing Lauren and Eleanor's dorm, said dreamily.

"It's times like this when I wish we had a fancy family heirloom that gets handed down every generation." Lauren said in a mock-sullen tone. "I guess we're not an old enough family. Or it could have something to do with the fact that my grandfather pawned all of my Dad's things in order to pay war debts. All he has left really is his Quidditch stuff from when he was on the team here. He said I could have it if I decide to try out for the team."

"Cool, what position did he play?" Albus asked, seizing the familiar topic.

"Beater and it's the position I'd be trying out for if I has ever so inclined. Though I need to learn how to fly straight first... What's the letter say, Scorpius?"

"Wishing me a happy birthday and reassuring me that nothing is wrong. Which of course tells me there is. He wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise." Scorpius said grimly, glaring down at the parchment as if it was the source of all his family's problems. He carefully folded it and placed it is his book bag. He sighed and poked at his still half-full plate of food. "Happy birthday to me, my Mum's staying with Aunt Daphne and my Dad's depressed and not cooking, which probably means not eating as well."

"No, stop this right now." Albus said forcefully, pointing a warning finger in his friend's face. "You made a resolution to not worry about your Dad's life and as your friend it is my duty to help you stick to it."

"No, I made a resolution to not worry about Dad being a _Death Eater_, starving himself because he's depressed is a completely different matter."

"I highly doubt you have to worry about your Dad starving to death."

"Did you see his owl? Grey was twice as big when I saw him in the summer. That's not normal for any creature. They usually put on weight for the winter."

"Scorpius," Lauren said forcefully, seizing him by the shoulders and shaking him firmly. "Get a grip. You sent an owl to your Aunt and Uncle. They will handle it, have faith in them. Take a few deep breaths and calm down. Then eat the rest of your breakfast, we don't need you starving as well."

"You're right, of course you're right. There isn't anything I can do."

"Yeah, and don't you have a house elf?" Eric asked through a mouthful of his own meal.

"You have a house elf?" Albus asked, years of his Aunt's rants about them colouring his tone.

"Yeah, her name's Evangeline and don't give me that look. She's not really a house elf, she's free and I don't know if she ever wasn't. She's more like a cross between hired help and an old family friend. Dad pays her and she gets time off whenever she wants. She'd been taking him up on that less and less recently; I think she's just as worried as I am."

"Now this may just be my Aunt Hermione talking, but isn't owning a house elf kind of like slavery?"

"Al, she's a free elf, I've already told you that. Dad makes her clothes and I think he's been sending some to her family too. They're all free. Didn't I tell you that? Dad met her on a trip in Wales and they became really good friends. She likes to clean and Dad needed help around the house. She's free to walk out at any time." Scorpius explained as they gathered up their things to go to their first class. "Yes, you're right; Dad and I both think that keeping anyone working for you without pay or against their will unacceptable."

"We don't have a house elf." Eric said simply as they made their way out of the front doors.

"Yeah," Lauren agreed. "It's normally just the really old families who have house elves. Doesn't your family have two Eleanor?"

"Yeah, they're really sweet. They've been working for our family for generations." Eleanor said in her high, breathy voice. "Mum wanted to pay them but they got really upset. We make them butter biscuits instead."

"So what 'interesting' plant are we going to be 'playing' with today do you think?" Eric asked, quickly and sarcastically, as Albus drew in a breath to retort. "Honestly, he's a great professor but I think Longbottom's trying to kill us."

"Eric, it was a cactus for goodness sake!" Lauren hissed in an exasperated tone.

"You would have been fine if you hadn't tripped and fallen on top of it."

"It took me days to get all the spines out." Eric moaned, showing them the inside of his arm that was still red. "Remind me never to get a hedgehog for a pet."

"Never get any pet. How did you even get spines there? I thought you fell on top of it..."

"Don't ask."

* * *

"What did I tell you? Just sit still and don't touch it. What did you do? You stepped on it!" Scorpius was pacing a section of the hospital wing, with Albus, Lauren, and Eleanor sitting in chairs watching him. Eric was lying face down in the bed with a bright orange paste drying on patches of his back.

"You know, when you said that fire-weed catches flame as a defence mechanism I didn't think it would be that bad or that quickly... In my defence, it's a first year plant I didn't think it could seriously hurt anything."

"You stepped on it! They're very delicate plants!"

"Calm down Scorpius." Lauren cut in, before Eric could continue the argument. "Yes they're delicate but they're also very common. All forests have them, it's how forest fires start. You know that. Your and Eric's plant will be fine. Now come on, there's no point in going to potions now, we've missed the first half, let's go get ready for dinner. We'll see you later Eric." The brunette forcibly sneered Scorpius from the hospital wing and towards the Slytherin common room.

"I can walk by myself."

"I know but I had to get you out of there. Go easy on him Scorpius you know he tries his best. He was just trying to help." Lauren said firmly, holding a hand up to stop Scorpius' retort. "I know Eric's practically a weapon of mass destruction but you shouldn't make him feel even worse about himself when he's already lying in the infirmary with third-degree burns. I think he gets the message that he screwed up without you drilling it into his head."

"You're right... I just forget sometimes, you know, that I shouldn't always say what comes to mind. Madame Pomfrey said he'd be alright to come to the feast tonight; I can talk to him then to apologise."

"That would probably be for the best." Albus agreed, slinging an arm across Scorpius' shoulders like he had the first day they had met. "But speaking of the feast, I'm starving, we missed lunch. Who's up for a late snack to tide us over until dinner?"

"Do you ever stop eating?" Scorpius asked as, before any of them could give him an answer, Albus began to steer him towards the Great Hall.

"I repeat we _missed lunch_." Albus said slowly, they were clearly not getting how important this was. Lunch was a major thing to have missed.

"We also missed most of our classes for the day. Like double potions. We were supposed to start learning about sleeping drafts today and they'll probably be on the exam at the end of the year." Scorpius said firmly and Albus could feel his need to head off into the library and teach them that lesson right now. "Defence against the dark arts and charms."

"At least all those professors will understand when we tell them why we weren't there. It's not like we missed transfiguration, I think Professor Lupin has it out for us." Lauren said bitterly.

"Teddy's never liked the Slytherins, I guess I'd hoped he would have changed to teach fairly but it's obviously not the case..." Albus agreed, as they came upon the doors of the Great Hall. The locked doors of the Great Hall. "No! It can't be closed already."

"They have to get ready for the feast." Eleanor reasoned as Lauren and Scorpius dragged Albus away from the doors. "Mum sent me a batch of her spice cookies, would you like some of those?"

"Yes!" Albus said brightly, looking happier than he had all day and pulled Eleanor into a tight hug. "Thank you!"

"Okay, okay, you're welcome, now can we let go of me. You're kind of crushing my spine, Al." Eleanor said quickly, trying to pry Albus' arms from around her.

"Sorry..."

* * *

The Great Hall looked amazing for the feast. More bats had been brought in, much to Lauren's displeasure, and now almost obscured the enchanted ceiling when they flew together. Hagrid had brought in more pumpkins to be carved, most looked big enough for their group to sit comfortably inside, and one couldn't look anywhere without a grinning face staring back at them. Once they were all seated at their house tables, all draped with orange and black tablecloths for the occasion, Headmistress McGonagall gave the signal for dinner to begin.

And the food. It was better, if possible, than the start of term feast. The table was dominated by big glazed hams and roast ducks, bowls of garlic mashed potatoes and salads. The soup was a mix of harvest-time vegetables; things like potatoes, leeks, and carrots.

"You're actually going to drink that?" Albus questioned through a rushed mouthful of food as Scorpius poured himself a glass of buttermilk. "I thought it was for pouring over biscuits and stuff."

"Buttermilk has more nutrients in it than almost anything else you can drink." Scorpius stated as he swirled the liquid in his glass. "It's also used to marinated meat before cooking it."

"'Kay, you'd know better than I would, I guess. I'm going to stick with the pumpkin juice. It is Halloween after all." Scorpius nodded indulgently at his friend before laughing as Albus spilled most of it into his lap. "That's not funny!" Scorpius, still laughing, shook his head. He caught Georgina's eye across at the Ravenclaw table and gave her a small smile. She had given him her gift this morning before he'd left herbology; a silver bracelet she'd enchanted to tell the wearer which direction they were facing, if they asked nicely. She lifted her glass in a toast and he mirrored her; for as long as he could remember he'd spent this day at her house. He hoped that Georgina had let herself have a moment of pride to boast her mother's cooking skills; no matter how lovely and impressive the Hogwarts feast was nothing would ever compare to Aunt Pansy's New Years dinner.

They were halfway through dessert, everything was pumpkin, chocolate or both, before anything happened. Albus was just helping himself to a second piece of pie when the doors slammed open.

"Mrs. Potter it would be better if you waited until after dinner to speak with the Headmistress in her office. Mrs. Potter!" Madam Rowan the Hogwarts caretaker was a sweet, round faced woman who had come to work at the school a few years ago when she had graduated from a muggle university outside of London. She was from a pureblood family who, though reluctant to allow their daughter to attend a non-wizarding school, were perfectly alright with her being a squib. She was decent with potions that didn't require spell work, which made cleaning much easier than it would have been, and was quite pleased with her job. Madam Rowan was great with kids and everyone knew not to mess with her or her twin cats, when angry she was rather scary, but she feel to pieces as soon as she had to disagree with an adult. She was currently chasing after an irate looking Ginny Potter who was stomping up the aisle between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables.

Needless to say Albus was sinking under the table and trying to stop existing.

"Professor McGonagall, I need to speak with you in private." Ginny said once she reached the head table. Teddy was smirking behind his wine goblet and a quick glance at the Gryffindor table showed that Rose and James looked like Christmas had come early. McGonagall gave her a questioning look but rose regardless and led the younger woman to a door leading off of the Great Hall.

Whispering broke out almost immediately, even among the staff. All eyes in the vicinity turned to Albus who was already beet red and as slouched in his seat as possible. "Why do you think you're Mum's here?" Eleanor finally asked the question they were all wondering and it made Albus sigh and emerge from the tablecloth.

"Oh, I don't know, get me switched out of Slytherin like Rose threatened that day in potions." Albus snapped bitterly. "I can't believe she's actually here. Wasn't her howler enough?"

"There is no way you can be switched into Gryffindor. There's no records of that ever being granted in-"

"_Hogwarts A History_, thanks Scorpius but my Mum has this way of getting anything she wants. Now I know it probably has something to do with the fact that my Dad won the war."

"She can't take you out of Slytherin." Toby moaned from a couple seats down. "Our match against Gryffindor is a week away; we have no time to train a new chaser."

"How exactly can you be thinking about Quidditch right now?" Eric asked, glaring at the other boy.

"Toby's just saying that it's one of the reasons I can't be transferred. Quidditch is important to me too. Just like my friends are important to me. I hardly know anyone in Gryffindor and after what I said in our first class with Professor Advocatt no one is going to want to get to know me. None of them like him very much." Albus looked up at the staff table where their potions professor was sitting, looking nervous and fidgeting with his wine cup. "He risked a lot by teaching here and I'm proud to be in his house. And I'm proud to be in Salazar Slytherin's house. There's nothing wrong with it." Albus stated firmly, resolve showing clearly on his face.

"I don't think your Mum's going to like that very much."

"My Dad likes it, he's already told me that and he's the one who raised me while Mum was on tour with her Quidditch team. I love my Mum but I value his opinion more because I'm closer to him." Albus firm statement closed the conversation on the subject and they returned to watching the door. It wasn't long before their Headmistress and Ginny came out of the door.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall called as she swept towards the main doors. "Would you please come with us." It wasn't a question and Albus rose shakily from his seat to follow them out of the hall. His Mum didn't speak to him and he refused to meet her eye. None of them spoke until they were seated in the Headmistress' office. "Do you know why your Mum's here, Mr. Potter?"

"She doesn't want me in Slytherin House." Albus said, trying to keep the resentment out of his voice in front of the Headmistress.

"Albus, honey, that's not what I said. I just think that you'd be better suited for someplace else. Like Gryffindor."

"So you think I'm not good enough to be in Slytherin?"

"Albus, don't speak to your mother in such a tone. It's not polite." McGonagall said quickly in as soothing tone as she could muster before Ginny could retort. "Your mother thinks that the Sorting Hat might have made a mistake by placing you where it did. I cannot in good conscience merely change your house, that has never been done by a Hogwarts Headmaster or Headmistress and will not start with me, but if you sincerely believe that the Hat was mistaken then I will consent having you try it on again, if you wish."

"I do wish that." Ginny said automatically, smiling a small satisfied smile that caused Albus to slide down in his chair.

"Perhaps you misunderstood my meaning Mrs. Potter; the question was not posed to you but to your son. If Albus believes that he has been placed in the wrong house I am giving him the opportunity to be sorted again and we will stand by the Hat's new decision."

"But what if I-" Albus was cut off by one of the portraits clearing his throat. Looking up at the frame Albus felt his jaw drop when he saw the name under the picture. _Severus Snape_.

"There's a... _gentleman_... outside insisting to come in and running out of sweet names to tell the gargoyle. Would you like me to inform him of the password change or allow him to continue making a fool of himself?"

"Yes would you please let Mr. Potter in, Severus." McGonagall said; Albus couldn't really make out her tone, it was a strange mixture of admonishing and amused. A moment after the portrait-headmaster left his frame the doors to the office opened and Albus' Dad stumbled in, looking out of breath like he had run all the way from the village up to the school.

"Hi Professor McGonagall, I'm sorry for bursting in like this without owling ahead but could I just talk to my wife for a moment?" Harry asked quickly after waving to his son and giving him a small smile. He gently pulled Ginny over to the door so they were out of earshot of the other two in the room. Albus looked up into McGonagall's calm face and carefully made his way over to her desk.

"You said that I could try on the Sorting Hat again if I wanted to."

"Yes, you heard me correctly, Mr. Potter."

"Then I'd like to just go back to my dorm instead. I'm happy with where I am and I don't want to leave my friends. Is that alright?"

"I think that's a very mature decision. And your parents should respect that." She gently pat him on the shoulder as she stood. "But maybe I should be the one to tell them. Between you and me I think your Mum had her heart set on having an all Gryffindor household. Perhaps you and your Dad can help her realize that the two houses aren't really that different after all."

"Dad's certainly going to try. Goodnight Professor. Goodnight Mum, goodnight Dad. Have a safe trip home and say 'hi' to Lily for me."

"Wait! Al, honey, what did that Hat say?"

* * *

The dorm was quiet when Albus returned to it, Damon wasn't in, Eric was pacing restlessly across the room, and Scorpius was curled up on his bed around the herbology textbook. The blond was the first to look up and his grey eyes widened dramatically when he saw the other boy.

"Your robes are still green!"

"Of course they're still green. You guys didn't think I'd just up and leave you, do you?" Albus laughed as he sat on the end of his bed and fiddled with the emerald curtains. "Professor McGonagall let me decided to stay where I was, it was an easy choice."

"How's your Mum taking it?"

"I don't know; I left before McGonagall told her and Dad."

"Your Dad's here too?"

"Yeah, I think he was trying to stop Mum. I don't know how she's going to take it and part of me doesn't really care." Albus admitted, staring down at the carpet under his shoes. "I can't be just like her and I can't be just like Dad; I need to make my own choices and I can't always be worried about how my family's going to react to them."

"Parents!" Scorpius said dramatically as he slammed his book shut. "What _are_ we going to do with them? We can't change what they've _done_, you can't change what they're _doing_. All we can do is stop worrying about them and trust they can make their own decisions."

"You're still bitter about your Dad being a Death Eater." Eric said mildly, ducking out of the way as the textbook sailed towards his head. "Was that really necessary?"

"We haven't proven that yet!"

"And now you've officially broken your New Year's resolution. It hasn't even been a whole day yet!"

"Do you want me to throw more hard cover books at you?"

"Calm down you two. We can't jump to conclusions about my Mum or your Dad. We'll be seeing them over Christmas break, we find out then. For good or for bad."


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. The new professor, Advocatt, isn't mine either and is the property of Nippon Ichi. However Georgina and any other characters you dont' recognize are products of my own imagination.

A/N: Hey, guys, thanks for being so patient for a new update. Exams are over (yay!) which means I have all summer to work on projects like this one. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter, I'm starting to explaore Advocatt's character a bit. Next chapter is the start of the Christmas holidays.

* * *

Chapter Nine

"Are you alright?" Neville jumped as someone tapped him on the shoulder and slid beside him.

"Professor Advocatt, I didn't hear you come up."

"Not many do." The devil said smoothly, leaning up against the wall and looking up at the other professor through his wispy brown bangs. "But I repeat my question, are you alright? You seem a little... jumpy."

"I don't really like flying."

"Then why did you volunteer to be the referee for a sport played in the air?"

"Headmistress McGonagall asked me to. She worries that Madam Bell isn't going to be a fair judge of your team. And, therefore, you couldn't do it either; everyone would accuse you of favouring Slytherin. I know the rules decently enough, it's just..."

"You're sacred of heights."

"Not heights exactly, just flying in general. I had kind of a bad experience first year during flying lessons and I've never really gotten over it." Neville said with a half smile that didn't completely hide his nervousness.

"Here," Advocatt said, pulling a necklace from the satchel at his waist. It was a hand carved brown charm on a simple black string. The potions professor pressed it into Neville's hand and it warmed his palm for a moment. "We give them to the baby dragons to prevent the vertigo of their first flight. Maybe it'll help you."

"Thank you. I didn't know you trained dragons."

"It's part of sorcery; dragons, demons, imps, those funny inky things that live in shadows and eat discarded bones. Great for clean up after parties. I'm going to go wish my team luck. I'm sure you'll be fine out there."

"Okay guys, just because this is the big one, the one crucial game, the one we've been training for-"

"Cedric, if that sentence ends in 'but that's no reason to be nervous' you just need to stop talking." Tension ran high in change room as the seven green clad players waited for the game to start.

"You know Toby, maybe some people would like to hear the end of my pep-talk. " Cedric growled and Henry grabbed him by the arm before he could lunge at his fellow chaser.

"Stop, fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to be a team today."

"Kate," Albus asked quietly, taking a seat beside the keeper. "Why is today's game so more important than the other two?"

"It's against Gryffindor. We all want to win this one more than anything."

"Yeah, I get that we all want to beat the Gryffindors and I'd love to rub it in James' face that our team is better than his but Cedric seems really grim and determined."

"It's become a personal matter to all of us who have been on the team before. Slytherin hasn't won a game against Gryffindor since your Dad first joined their team Al. That's twenty five years of matches. At least when it was your Dad playing our team would lose fair and square, he was a really good Seeker and planned well when he was captain, but since then we've been losing on penalties alone and unfair ones at that."

"That's why Headmistress McGonagall wanted Professor Longbottom to referee this year, he'll be fair no matter what."

"Exactly, but I'm still concerned. Not that we will be fouled unfairly but we're all worried that our opponents are going to take advantage of the situation. I know Professor Longbottom has been trying to learn the rule but there are seven hundred ways to commit a Quidditch foul and more rules on top of that. That's a lot to learn in a short amount of time for someone who isn't that into the game and has assignments to grade. It's their beaters and your brother I'm most worried about."

"James likes to provoke Matthias doesn't he?"

"Yeah, Matt has three older brothers so he's used to fighting to get what he wants but in Quidditch it's... not the best idea shall we say? Did your brother ever tell you about the time they got into a fist fight on the pitch last year?"

"No!"

"Well, Matt lunged for the snitch, would have had it too I think, and James tackled him out of the way. Then, well... I'm sure you can guess what happened next."

"I'm just glad we were close to the ground." Matthias laughed lightly. "And I gave him a black eye. That was a month of detention well spent."

"That was you? He told us he got hit in the head with the quaffle. How long was James in detention?"

"He didn't get detention, Gryffindor got a penalty shot; Madam Bell was refereeing. Doesn't matter anyway, Cedric got mad and caught the snitch when I couldn't play anymore and we got disqualified from the match."

"Yeah, let's not do that this year." Albus said lightly to the agreement of the rest of the team. They were just finishing getting ready as the doors opened and the roar of the crowd hit them. Albus suddenly turned pale and Kate squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry, everyone is nervous before their first game. I think I threw up after mine."

"The most worrying thing about that sentence is that you're not sure what happened, Kate. That isn't the best pep talk."

"I know, but it's the truthful one. I may have hit my head but I seem to remember it being because one of the opposing beaters got mad and threw his bat at me. Try not to worry, just stick to your side and do your best to stay open. That's all anyone's expecting from you."

"I just don't want to let the team down."

"You won't, trust me. Just relax, it's just like practice."

"You were the keeper during practice."

"Yeah, and personally, I would say that I am way better than that stuck up jerk Bif Weber on the Gryffindor team."

"Way to be modest Kate. Thank you, but have you seen the size of him? His hands are the size of my head. It's like he can cover all the hoops without moving. I know you and Cedric keep saying that size doesn't matter in this game but I'm going to be the smallest person on that pitch."

"Well, against Gryffindor and Hufflepuff yes, you will be. But the Ravenclaw seeker Charlotte Ford is smaller than you. She probably only comes up to your shoulder." Kate said with bright laugh and a wide smile. "You just have to look on the bright side sometimes." She mounted her broom and kicked off before he could retort. The roar of the crowd filled his ears; the too-loud cheers from the Slytherins in the stands as they tried to drown out the boos from the other houses.

40-50. Gryffindor.

Georgina had found Scorpius and Eric in the stands and was cheering as hard as the rest of them, wearing her father's old green and silver scarf. It was an abnormally hot day for November, too warm certainly to be wearing scarves and hats. Eric was beginning to go red and Scorpius' normally pale cheeks were flushed white and pink.

"So how long does a game last usually?" Scorpius asked over the noise of his fellow housemates.

"You can never tell; a few minutes, a few hours, a few days..." Eric supplied offhand, smiling slyly at the look on the other boy's face.

"A few days!"

"Why so bothered, you can't be bored already Scorpius. Look, Al's got the quaffle again." Georgina said happily, looping an arm around his shoulders and pointing at their emerald clad friend zooming down the pitch towards the Gryffindor goal hoops. "At least try to have fun. For your friend."

"I am trying but we've been here almost an hour. I know professional quidditch matches can last a long while but this is school it shouldn't last so..." He trailed off, shaking his head lightly after a small bought of dizziness.

"Are you okay?" Georgina asked, looking at him properly for the first time that day and placing the back of her hand to his forehead. "You do feel a little hot. And you're not focusing very well. Maybe you should take off some of these clothes; you don't need your scarf or your hat. You're going to end up with heat stroke is you're not more careful."

"Everyone is wearing their scarves and no one else is having a problem."

"Well maybe they're different. Here, take some water and sit down. You're not looking good and you're not the right colour. Scorpius, look at me. You're spacing out."

"I feel a little cold..."

"Yeah, you're just overheating. Honestly, scarf off now."

"I'm cold, why would I want to take off my scarf?"

"Well if you were thinking properly you'd know why you have to." Georgina explained slowly, rubbing circles on his back.

"Is he okay? It's not that hot out here." Lauren asked, as she slid into the seat beside Scorpius. "Here, have some water."

"It's has a lot to do with stress and he hasn't been feeling well lately. Scorpius, we're going to get you inside and back to your dorm, okay?"

"But Al's match..."

"Don't give me that. You're bored out of your mind and you know it. Albus will understand that you had to leave. Now come on, up you get." He stood shakily and Lauren quickly caught him when he slipped.

"That's okay Scorp, how about I just carry you back to the dorm?" The brunette easily lifted the smaller boy into her arms, despite his protests.

"I can walk on my own Lauren!"

"Yeah? Then explain why you nearly ended up on your butt right there? I'll just get you back to your dorm and then you can do whatever you want, okay? Or would you rather have me take you to the infirmary?"

"I don't need to go to the hospital wing."

"Alright, if you say so."

"So does this kind of thing happen often?" Lauren asked as she leaned against the doorframe of Scorpius' dorm room with Georgina, watching the younger boy sleep. They had managed to get him curled up in bed wearing his jeans and a loose shirt.

"Unfortunately. Scorpius worries, a lot."

"Gee, you say it like we hadn't noticed."

"Hey, be fair, he just likes helping people. Empathy isn't a bad thing. He just cares about those close to him. Sometimes too much I guess you'd say. I'm glad he's made good friends like you Lauren."

"No problem, he's aggravating certainly, especially at time like this, but you can't help but like him regardless. Come on, we should get back to the match before someone finds us and I end up in trouble for bring a Ravenclaw into our dorm. He should be fine on his own, right? Like a hangover, just sleep it off?" Lauren asked and Georgina gave her an odd look. "What? It's not personal experience, I have cousins that drink. And you're telling me that you've never seen your parents drunk?"

"My parents don't drink, at least not around me."

"Fair enough. Whatever the case, do you think it would be okay to leave him to sleep? Everyone will be down at the match and once that's done you know Eric and Albus will be checking up on him."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. And you're right, we should go before I'm seen in here."

"Scorpius wake up! We won! We won!" The blond was shaken roughly awake but two over-enthusiastic Slytherins. Eric and Albus were jumping excitedly on the edge of his bed and the noise of celebration was echoing from the common room.

"Al scored twice and Matthias caught the snitch! I don't think they've put him down yet." Eric crowed. "And I know that you're not as excited as we are, we know you're not really into Quidditch-"

"No, I'm happy, really. I'm just a little out of it right now."

"Yeah, Georgie said you weren't feeling well and had to leave the game early. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, a bit. I had a good nap in any case. How long have I been sleeping?"

"About an hour, at least that's when Georgina and Lauren brought you up here. I'm glad you're feeling better. Take it easy next time, okay? You'll be fainting in the middle of class next and no matter how well we were paying attention there's no way for us to tell you what you missed. But, for now, we're missing a great party. Feeling okay enough to come join us?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling better. So tell me again how we won."

"Professor Advocatt?" Neville asked as he knocked quietly on the potion's master's office door. The other man was seated at his desk, hunched over sheets of parchment to grade. Gold eyes looked up sharply and smiled at his guest.

"I'm so sorry I missed the match today. I remembered I had these to mark right after I spoke to you. Did it go well?"

"Yes, Slytherin won, your seeker is a formidable opponent. When Madam Bell hasn't banned him from playing like she did last year..."

"We didn't do well last year? I'm glad that's changing, they're working too hard. Cedric has them out there almost every day now."

"That's defiantly more than my house's team has been out practicing. I think they were a little surprised that I didn't pull strings for them today to make sure that they won. They'll probably do better next time." Advocatt laughed lightly at the statement. "And here, I should give this back to you. Thank you, I should be better next time." Neville said as he placed the brown charm onto the wooden desk.

"I suspect you will." Advocatt said wistfully, picking it up and playing with it. "A student gave it to me, last year. Truly gifted child. Brilliant at the alchemical arts. He carved it himself."

"That's... Wait, you said it was a sorcery charm for training dragon hatchlings."

"There's no such thing, dragons don't get vertigo or air sickness, they're born yearning to fly and be free. It's just a sandstone pendant."

"But you said-"

"I lied. It's kind of what devils _do_. We lie if it helps us and we manipulate humans into doing what we want. It's in our nature."

"Okay, I guess I understand that but that doesn't explain why you helped _me_. I understand that it helped your team but..."

"Did you hear me say that I don't help people for the sake of it? You make it sound like I only want to make bad things happen. I wanted to help you. I was the alternate referee. Wouldn't that have given my team a better chance of winning? What's in this for me?"

"What is in it for you?" His question received no answer; Advocatt merely smiled, gold eyes glittering in the low candle light, and returned to marking his paper. "How am I to know when you're telling the truth and when it's a lie?"

"I don't know. Perhaps, if you can't figure it out, you won't be able to tell." He laughed, almost like it was a private joke before turning his eyes on the page in front of him and Neville left as quickly as he could without feeling like he was being rude.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and honestly you're on the tenth chapter you should know that by now.

A/N: Okay, let's start with this: I am so incredibly sorry for not updating sooner than this. I had fully intended on finishing this story during the summer and as you are all well aware it is now into December and I haven't updated since April. For that I am truly sorry. Thank you to everyone who is still reading and still reviewing. I hope this chapter makes up for the waiting, it's rather long I think it's the longest chapter at this point, and hopefully, I'm not going to make any hard and fast promises since life tends to throw a wrench into such things, I will be able to get another chapter up closer to the actual date of everyone's winter holiday. The next one should be easier to write; it's mostly about Neville who is by far my favourite Gryffindor which you all have probably noticed from the amount of Herbology classes... The holidays will end up being several chapters long mainly because it's one of the only times I get to write as the adults and therefore it's the best place to start/continue several important plot points especially the ones around Draco. So I hope everyone will find it interesting, there was an indication in the reviews that character development is more interesting than classes so I'll try to focus on that a bit more.

So I got one review for the last chapter containing a question which was **what does the charm Advocatt lent to Neville actually do?** And I realised re-reading the chapter that though the answer was stated I was rather vague about it. So the answer is: absolutely nothing other than looking nice. It was merely a thoughtful gift to Advocatt from one of his previous students. The point of it was the placebo effect to help Neville referee the match.

I think that's all the 'housekeeping' issues taken care of for now. As always I'm open to questions, which are very helpful in making me realise when I'm not making sense. I have an editor, but she's a friend of mine and tends to listen to me plan so she already has pre-conceived notions of what's happening and may not catch a moment of vague-ness. I would also like to take a moment to apologize for my earlier defensiveness about receiving suggestions. I tend to be rather touchy about the line between suggestion and demand and I think it comes from growing up being told what I can/cannot/have to write about so I tend to insist on doing things my own way. So I'm sorry about snapping at you guys in a previous note.

So without further ado, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Ten

November and December passed in a blur of late night studying and early morning quidditch practices. Even Scorpius, with his rigid homework schedule that kept all his assignments on track, was beginning to wear down.

"Just think, only three more days." Eric said hopefully one evening, looking at Scorpius' drawn, pale face as he blanked out staring at his Defence Against the Dark Arts book.

"And in those three more days we have two midterms to study for. In case you've forgotten." Scorpius snapped finally, laying his forehead on top of the book. "Defence against the dark arts and potions. I bet you anything sleeping drafts will be on it and that's the class we missed."

"You know them back to front anyway Scorpius. I don't know why you're even bothering to study." Albus said, trying to be supportive. "I'm not so worried about Professor Eurkhart's test, she never makes them that hard, but I'm kind of rubbish at potions. I think I get it from my Dad, it was his least favourite subject too."

"Which is why we should be reviewing. Instead the two of you are playing _chess_." Scorpius said disdainfully as he looked down at the board between his two friends glaring at it as if it was the source of all his problems. "Tell me again why you're playing a game instead of studying."

"My Dad says that chess helps develop critical thinking and strategy making."

"Okay, so what're the main ingredients of a boil cure potion?" The blonde looked between them, smiling smugly at the dumbfounded looks. "You know, the one we made in the first class."

"Hellebore isn't one of them." Eric said quickly, recalling their experience with the extract. "You think that's going to be on it?"

"Maybe, we don't know. That's the point of reviewing everything. But for now, it's late and I'm going to bed."

* * *

"Come on Scorpius, just get on the train, I'm sure you did fine."

"I think I got question seven wrong. Is the flipendo spell used for knocking objects backwards or for breaking them?"

"Both, now get on the train. There's nothing you can do to change your answers now."

"I don't think I put that." Scorpius squeaked in alarm as Lauren grabbed him around the waist and carried him onto the train. "Put me down!"

"There is nothing you can do about your test right now Scorpius, I'm sure you did fine." The bigger girl growled, finally having enough with his worrying, as Albus and Eric just laughed. She set him down on a seat in an empty compartment. "Scorpius, do us all a favour. Just relax for once. You're going to see your Dad soon. That's exciting isn't it?"

"I think my Dad's having a mental breakdown and I think he's breaking up with Mum."

"But you're excited to see him none the less." Lauren said knowingly as she and Eleanor disappeared down the aisle.

"Are you okay?" Albus asked, softly as he slid into the seat beside his friend. "You know, I was serious about you and your Dad coming for Christmas. Just because you don't celebrate it doesn't mean you can't have dinner with us, right? I'm sure Dad will be fine with it."

"Thanks Al. I'd like that." Scorpius said absently, staring out the window as the familiar countryside flashed by. "I can't believe it's already been half a year. It seems like no time at all and yet so much has changed..."

"Hey, don't be getting all serious on us Scorp." Eric said quickly throwing a balled up piece of parchment at his friend, earning a small smile. "Now come on, are we going to waste our last moments of free magic time? I don't think so. Who's up for-"

"Reviewing our charms lessons?" Scorpius asked brightly, holding up his wand as Albus laughed at his joking tone. Eric groaned. "I'm kidding, guys, honestly."

"You better be. I don't want to hear about school until we're on the train back in three weeks." Eric said as he pushed Scorpius' bag of school books more firmly under the seat and settling himself on the seat across from his two friends.

"So how are you spending the holidays Eric?"

"My Dad and I are going to Australia; he's doing some sort of potions research. So it's lab work for him; sun and surf for me."

"Lucky. The farthest away I've ever been was the time Mum's team played in Ireland and we went to cheer her on. We stayed with my Dad's friend Seamus Finnegan and his family. His son's in our year."

"You mean Aubury Finnegan? That weasely Gryffindor who poured bat blood down the back of my robes in potions class and tried to blame Eleanor?"

"That was the best potions class ever. Not because he pranked you of course but just for the look on Professor Advocatt's face. He looked even angrier than the first day with what Rose said."

"It can't be healthy for him to get that upset so often. Do you see how drained he gets afterwards? And speaking of upset, Georgie are you alright?" Georgina was standing on the doorway of their compartment, face red and blotchy from crying. Eric was up in a second, helping her into the seat beside him. "What happened?"

"I'm just a little nervous about going home for the holidays. I'll be aright in a minute, I promise."

"Why are you so nervous? I mean, I'm a little worried about what my Mum's going to say when I tell her that I'm not switching into Gryffindor but-"

"That's it isn't it?" Eric interrupted. "You're worried about what your parents are going to think about you being in Ravenclaw. I'm sure they'll understand Georgina."

"They couldn't be mad at you for anything if they tried Georgie." Scorpius said gently as he took her hands in his. She gave him a small smile in return.

"I guess you're right. Thanks guys."

"What else are we here for?" Albus asked brightly. "Where are you spending your holidays Georgina?"

"Well Mum's in Paris right now, she's working there for the year, so that's where I'm spending the break. Mum's going to be working; Dad and I are going to be out on the town. So, she's going to be too busy to cook this year but they found this nice restaurant we're going to have dinner in. It won't be the same as Mum's cooking, of course, but it's supposed to be nice."

"You're going to Paris and acting like it's the most normal thing in the world." Eric said, almost bitterly, rolling his eyes as Georgina began to laugh. "The farthest away I've ever been is Wales. I won't have even been off this island until this holiday. My Dad has been almost everywhere you can name with his work. I can't wait to be able to apparate."

"Apparating to another country is very dangerous. You'd be better using the floo network." Scorpius said automatically, smiling weakly at the frowns he received at yet another lesson. "What, you handed me that one. You really did. Besides, you have to wait until you're eighteen to appartate, you can use the floo now."

"You may have a point."

"I always have a point; you should know this by now."

* * *

It was raining in London. Scorpius pressed his nose to the window as the train pulled up to the station. "Mum's not here... I thought... I thought she'd at least come see me." Without hesitating Georgina moved behind him and hugged him. "I'm fine Georgie."

"No you're not. I know you well enough. You're sad and you're trying not to be mad at her. But it's hard because all you want to do is blame someone. Make someone accountable for everything that's happening."

"I know how that feels." Eric said softly. "My Mum's kinda crazy, all she likes to talk about is the dark arts and how muggleborns shouldn't be allowed in magic schools but she's still my mother and it was hard for both of us when Dad and I left. Do you even know why you're Mum's so upset?"

"No and I don't even think Dad does. When I look back at it, she's always been kind of distant with him. I mean, it was an arranged marriage."

"What?" Albus asked, turning from his truck to stare at Scorpius.

"Don't look so shocked Al, lots of traditional families still do it." Georgina said calmly. "How did you find out?"

"Mum's not as secretive about things as Dad is. I'm not sure he knows that I'm aware of it yet. I think they're letting people off now. Shall we brave the weather?" Scorpius said calmly, taking a hold on the handle of the bag he had packed for the holidays. It was a cop out to avoid more of the conversation and Georgina shot a look at the other two boys for them to let it go. She knew when to stop pushing him.

They went out into the rain; it wasn't heavy but it was cold and they heard many cries from their disgruntled schoolmates as they stepped out of the train. "Oh wow, my baby's a brilliant Ravenclaw!" Georgina grinned and ran towards her father, whose loud exclamation had drawn stares from several other students and parents. Gregory Goyle had been a big child and had turned into a tall, muscled adult easily capable of sweeping his eleven year old daughter and her bag into his arms. "Thank the Gods you got your Mother's brains."

"You're smart too Daddy."

"But obviously not as smart as my daughter. And perhaps you can help me with a problem; I don't understand why you didn't tell us. You can't have expected us to have reacted badly. We love you."

"That's what Scorpius said, that you couldn't be mad at me for it. I guess I was just being silly." She laughed lightly as she hugged him.

"How about we wish your Uncle Drake happy holidays and be on our way?" They both looked over to where Scorpius was standing, holding his father's hand and saying goodbye to Al.

"But it's a good idea, you thought so too on the train."

"We couldn't possibly intrude upon your father's hospitality Albus, surely you recognise that." Draco said softly as Harry Potter sauntered over to his youngest son.

"Recognise what?"

"Dad, tell them they can come for the holidays. It's just going to be Scorpius and Mr. Malfoy all alone in their big old house. Please Dad?" Harry contemplated the blond man for a moment; Draco was trying to steel himself for the response, quite sure it would not be favourable. He was unsure how he was going to explain it to Scorpius, who was looking hopefully up at Harry's face.

"I don't see why we can't put the past behind us, Malfoy." Harry started, extending a hand to the other man with a quirk of a smile on his face. "After all, it seems like our children are friends so there shouldn't be any reason why we can't at least be civil with one another, right?"

"Of course." Draco said, allowing himself a small smile as he shook the offered hand. Scorpius and Albus shared a victorious smile under their father's clasped hands.

"Give me a few hours to convince my wife and best friend of this. Come by around seven perhaps. Christmas is at the Burrow this year, it's near a little town called Ottery St. Catchpole. I'm sure you'll be able to find it. What do you usually do for your Christmas?"

"We don't usually have Christmas actually." Draco said slowly, hand returning to his side and resting lightly on his son's shoulder. "We celebrate Yule, it's on the twenty-first. The first day of winter."

"That's great!" Harry said brightly, surprising his company. "I mean, so does Neville. Maybe we'll be able to get him to come around this year. He spends his holidays who knows where all on his own. I'll let you two go and we'll see you later." He flashed them the smile Draco had usually labelled the cocky Harry Potter grin before heading off, Albus chatting happily at his side.

"Dad, are you upset?" Draco jumped at his son's soft question and looked down into worried grey eyes.

"No, of course not. I'm just a little stunned is all. Mr. Potter and I never really... got on when we were at school. I never expected him to be so friendly. It's a pleasant surprise. And it will be nice to have company over the holidays this year. Though you could have given me some fair warning. That would have been nice." His teasing tone drew a smile from the worried eleven year old. "I'm glad you found such a good friend."

"I am too. I've made a couple new friends actually. There's another boy in our room, Eric Pucy, he's really cool. And he says that his Dad knew you while you were at school."

"Yeah, Adrian. He's a couple years older than me. We played Quidditch together. He's a good man, Adrian Pucy. I didn't know he had a family though. Last I heard he was up in Cornwall studying soil effects on herbs or something."

"He travels a lot. Eric's always getting owls with these little souvenirs from all over the world. But they're home for the holidays."

"That's good." Draco said, grinning as his best friend pulled him into a tight one armed hug. "Greg, Georgina. Hey, blue's your colour. I didn't know you got sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Neither did I." Greg said, smirking at his daughter. "We're heading off. Did I hear right that you're spending your holidays with Potter and his friends?"

"Yes, you heard correctly. And it will be fine before you go off and worry. There's no reason to suggest that the Potters and I cannot get along for a fortnight. Everything will be fine."

"Who're you trying to convince?" Greg asked softly, looking at his best friend with the quiet smile and tilted head that had gotten Draco to open up so often when they were at school. He could almost imagine Pansy's raised eyebrows and worried frown by Greg's left shoulder. He'd seen in many times over the years, when they'd corner him in the hallway or the empty dorm. 'I'm your friend' that expression said, 'you don't have to hide from me'. It made Draco smile.

"I'm not trying to convince anyone. Have a good holiday, Greg. Blessed be."

"Blessed be."

* * *

"Honestly Harry, you can't just invite people to my house without asking me first. Especially when it's Malfoy!" Ron Weasley was not a happy man. He was staring down his best friend in the front hall of his parent's home; trying to use his larger frame to his advantage. Hermione stood off in the living room watching the exchange with a smug smile. Harry was already winning.

"Why are you so afraid of seeing him? This will be a good chance to get over our childish rivalry."

"If by 'childish rivalry' you mean him being a soulless Death Eater then your assessment is correct. Which, by the way, is what _you_ tried to convince us of all through sixth year. Why are you taking his side now?"

"I find it hard to believe that the Draco Malfoy we knew at school could raise a child who my son would get along with. People change Ron. And he's part of the Order we have to give him a chance. Didn't I tell you that?" Harry asked snidely as they both looked up at a knock on the door. "At least attempt to be civil for Al's sake, he's really excited that they're here."

"Whose bright idea was it to make Malfoy part of the Order?"

"I believe your Mother was the one who suggested it." Harry said brightly, laughing lightly at the look on his friends face as he opened the door. "Mr. Malfoy," He said cordially, more to enjoy the look he received from Ron than to be overly polite. "You found us alright."

"Yes, the residence is... distinctive."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you have chickens and your house is made up of seventeen different additions built around each other. Therefore the definition of 'distinctive' is quite accurate." Scorpius said softly from Draco's elbow, smiling shyly up at them. Harry returned it but Ron just looked ill and his ears began to turn red.

"Look, it's great that Harry invited you but this is my house and I think I'm fully within my right to say that I don't want a Death Eater here, especially not for the holidays."

"Ron!"

"No, it's alright." Draco said calmly as he glanced down at his child who was standing stiffly now, straight shouldered and tight lipped. Looking not so pleased with Ron. Draco was more relaxed, gently touching Scorpius' shoulder before rolling up his left sleeve to expose the inside of his arm. Harry wished he hadn't.

Along his arm were faint old scars, evenly spaced from wrist to elbow like the rungs of a muggle ladder. Harry felt as if ice had settled itself firmly into his stomach and Scorpius' eyes widened in a mixture of emotions.

"Dad, what happened?"

"Nothing Scorpius, it's nothing. Happened a long time ago. It's nothing you have to worry about." The words did nothing to budge the worry placed firmly on his son's face. "Scorp, honestly, I'm fine. Lots of things happened when I was younger you can't worry about all of them."

"Hey, it's getting cold out here," Harry said quickly after he'd regained his ability to speak. "Come inside." Ron was too shocked to protest and Harry quickly pushed him farther inside to give the two Malfoys room to step in the house. "Mrs. Weasley, we've got two more guests for tonight."

"And you said Neville was coming tomorrow evening?" Molly Weasley, who had been bustling around the kitchen, came out into the hall to greet them. "I don't know where you're all going to sleep mind you. With everyone staying over it's going to be crowded."

"If it's alright with you Mrs. Weasley, could we stay down here in the front room? We'd be out of your way and it would free a guest bedroom." Draco offered softly, already setting down his bag on the floor of the room. Harry's eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline; since when was Draco Malfoy in anyway accommodating?

"That's fine with me, Ron?" Molly asked, giving her son a firm look as Harry clapped him on the back.

"I don't care, sleep wherever you want." Ran said exasperated as he threw his hands up and stalked upstairs. Harry rolled his eyes at his friend's behaviour and turned to Scorpius.

"Al's just outside if you want to go find him. I'm sure your Dad and I can get along without you kids looking over our shoulders all day." Scorpius gave them a playful look that said he didn't quite believe him but crossed over to the back door obediently. Harry laughed lightly as they heard Albus' loud happy greeting. "Maybe your son will get mine back onto the ground. I've barely been able to get him off my broomstick since he got home. Speaking of, we should have a pick-up game of quidditch later. It's been too long since I've had some decent competition that isn't my wife."

"I'm not really supposed to fly anymore." Draco said softly as he set his bag on the couch before turning to Harry and taking in his surprised look. "Old injury that never healed properly."

"When did that happen?"

"Our fourth year, a little before the holidays. You were there."

"I was?"

"I believe your charming best friend called me the 'amazing bouncing ferret'." Draco said, a sarcasm in his tone that made the statement lighter than the look in his eyes let on. Off Harry's still confused look he continued. "Most of my ribs were shattered and I still don't how Moody got me to Professor Snape's office. I passed out as soon as I got there."

"But Madam Pomfrey was a brilliant doctor, how could she have missed something that would still be affecting you?"

"I was fine for a couple years but near the end of sixth year I got hexed and it re-opened a lot of it. Professor Snape was able to reverse most of the damage but dark magic's hard to heal." Harry felt a twist of guilt knot itself into his stomach; the way Draco had turned had thrown his face into sharp relief from one of the lights, highlighting a pale scar running from one temple to the other side of his jaw.

"I'm sorry about that." Harry whispered. "If I'd know what the spell did-"

"You hit an opponent with a spell that you weren't sure the properties of? Wasn't that one of the things that we learned in Defence against the Dark Arts that year? Wait, I remember, you didn't like Professor Snape much and probably didn't listen to a word he said."

"It's not that I didn't listen. And if I remember that _encounter_ properly I believe that it was you who started the fight by throwing an unforgivable at me."

"I was in the middle of a panic attack, I can't be held legally responsible for my actions that year."

"That's true, you were told to kill the greatest wizard of our time." Harry said in an offhand kind of tone.

"How did you know about that? No one was supposed to know about that except me, Mum, and Professor Snape."

"And Professor Dumbledore. Snape told him at the beginning of the year. That's why Snape was trying to figure out what you were up to all year." Hermione explained as she walked into the room with a pile of sheets in her arms. "And we knew because Harry spent most of that year stalking you."

"I wouldn't exactly call it _stalking_." Harry defended as Draco shot them both a look that was in equal parts confused and panicked.

"And what would you call it Harry? I seem to recall you asking Dobby and Kretcher to follow him around."

"Yeah? And who suggested polyjuice potion so we could break into the Slytherin common room in second year?"

"Hold on, wait a minute." Draco said loudly to get their attention. "Granger you start, why were you breaking into my common room and what does it have to do with my old house elf?"

"Well, Dobby was working at Hogwarts and was friends with Harry so he asked him to follow you around when we couldn't because of class. To be fair, we did think you were a death eater bent on destroying the castle, we wanted to know what you were up to. And in second year we thought you were the heir of Slytherin and were trying to kill all the muggleborns."

"There is so much wrong with what you just said I have no idea which question to ask first. How about, how the hell was I the heir of Slytherin? My ancestors are from France."

"Well, how were we supposed to know that?" Harry snapped defensively as he sat on the couch. "When I found out that the chamber had been opened before, fifty years before it was in our second year, we just assumed that it had been your father. Neither of you were exactly shy about your dislike of muggleborns."

"Fifty years before our second year?" Draco asked sceptically, earning nods in agreement. "Okay, not only was my father not even born then, my grandfather would have been about eight years old. There is no way anyone in my family was attending Hogwarts that year. What did you do, blame me for everything that went wrong at Hogwarts just because I didn't particularly like you?" He laughed, like the idea was ridiculous, but the disapproving look Hermione shot Harry was answer enough. "I'm so glad our sons are friends or I would have never found out how much you hated me at school. I think I'll go help Mrs. Weasley with dinner, it's the least I can do for letting us stay here."

Harry and Hermione stood staring at one another for a few moments before chasing after him. "Malfoy wait, that's not really what we meant." Harry skidded to a stop in front of the kitchen door so quickly that Hermione almost crashed into him. Draco was talking with Molly, amicably like acquaintances, and tying an apron behind his back. "You're wearing an apron!" Hermione laughed, not sure if it was because of the look on her best friend's face as he said it or the fact that their schoolyard nemesis was standing in her kitchen wearing one of her mother-in-law's aprons.

"Yes Potter, those who care about the state of their clothes where them while cooking to stay clean. I understand that in your state of dress you wouldn't care one way of the other but I do." Draco explained slowly, rolling his eyes as he turned back to the task that had been asked of him.

"I didn't know you cooked." Hermione said curiously, trying to steer the conversation into a more neutral place.

"I had to learn, ever since _someone_ made it illegal to own new house elves after she became the spokeswoman for magical creatures. The elf that lives with us, Evangeline, she doesn't cook so I have to. It's not a big deal, I enjoy it."

"But you still own a house elf?" Hermione asked, frowning at him as she walked into the kitchen.

"I don't think own would really be the word for it anymore. Technically I inherited her when I inherited the manor but she's free now. She practically raised me so I thought I owed her at least that. She's more like hired help really, she likes to clean so who am I to deny her that? You're all looking at me like I've grown a new head, is the shock of not knowing everything about me hitting you a little hard? I know it's hard when you think you know everything about someone and you find out you actually know nothing." The sarcasm dripping from the last sentence made Harry grimace nervously. "But, you wanted me to deal with these carrots." Draco spun on his heels to face Mrs. Weasley again, ignoring the shocked look on Harry's face and the slow smile spreading across Hermione's.

"You certainly grew up."

"Thank you for that assessment Granger."

"I'm a Weasley now." She reminded him gently as she took another job from Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, I know." Draco heaved a dramatic and sarcastic sigh that made the two women laugh lightly. "If I keep saying it you might realise that you married someone who not only is so childish that he can't let go of a grudge even for the sake of his family and is probably unable to hold up the other end of an intelligent conversation with you. I'd have picked you to end up with a Ravenclaw honestly."

"You do realise that's my son you're talking about, right?"

"You do realise you're not contradicting me, right?"

"Okay, okay, said man is also my husband." Hermione interjected. "Just because he's currently sulking in the upstairs bedroom because no one asked him if you were allowed to stay doesn't mean I don't love him. We already have enough children here for the holidays you need to be the bigger man and try not to push his buttons. And that goes for you too Harry." The dark haired man jumped as he was addressed directly, Hermione had gone from amused to a scarily accurate impression of an angry Mrs. Weasley in a moment. "We are going to get through this Christmas without any problems because there is no reason why we can't be civil."

"That's what Dad said to Uncle Greg." The adults turned sharply towards the door to find Scorpius and Albus standing at the entrance to the kitchen.

"I thought Rose was with you Al."

"Rose and I aren't really getting on right now." Albus said softly as they took chairs at the kitchen table.

"She did mention something of that sort in one of her letters and now that I think about it you two have been going out of your way to avoid one another. I hope you two work it out soon, you were so close before this year. Once again I am left with a doubt in how useful the house system at Hogwarts is. It's the only wizarding school in Europe still to have it in effect. Durmstrang got rid of theirs in the thirteenth century." Hermione said, frowning.

"I'm going to play devil's advocate for this and point out that they got rid of the house system only because of an assassination attempt on the head boy by a rival house. It's also when they got rid of the offices of head boy and girl." Draco pointed out, gaining concerned looks from everyone in the room. "Yeah, I know, when I read that it made Hogwarts seem really tame in comparison. Even after the debacle with the Chamber of Secrets." He gave Harry a pointed look that clearly said 'yes that event you blamed me for.'

"What's the Chamber of Secrets?" Scorpius asked quickly.

"Nothing you kids need to worry about, it's just something that happened to us when we were age at school. No reason to fuss over it." Hermione said quickly, hitting Draco on the back where Scorpius and Albus couldn't see.

"Alright everyone, dinner will be ready soon." Molly said firmly as she smiled warmly at the two children. "Why don't you kids go get washed up and maybe I get can my son to come down with the promise of some food."

* * *

A/N: Just a quick note: I had forgotten that there was a brief Doctor Who referance in the last chapter, anyone spot it? Happy Holidays.


	11. Chapter 11

Yes, yes I'm very aware I haven't updated since 2010... And there's really nothing I can say other than I've very, very sorry to all the people who have been reading this.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Dinner had gone better than any of them could have imagined. The children had been tense with one another for the first half of the meal with Lily and Hugo taking it upon themselves to try and bring their older siblings back together. It had worked when Lily had brought up Rose's favourite subject, centaurs and their culture, and Scorpius had proven to be more knowledgeable than even his father had known. By the time Molly brought in her apple pie for dessert Rose's well constructed grudge against the young Malfoy had started to loosen.

"It's amazing; when they walked in here they wouldn't even speak to one another. And now after an hour long dinner they're chatting away like nothing ever happened," Hermione was musing as she and Harry helped to put away the dishes. "Oh the power of being eleven years old."

"It may also have something to do with the fact that, despite your husband's sulking Granger, having parents who weren't at each other's throats all evening certainly helped," Draco said dryly, sitting down in one of the kitchen's wooden chairs as Hermione just rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"You know; if you ever want my husband to stop sulking you're going to have to stop calling me that."

"Doesn't matter to me if he's sulking or not. Besides if he's upstairs sulking he's not down here with you inevitably forcing us to interact. Weasley and I are never going to be friends; we're probably never even going to be able to be civil with one another because we've both been trained from birth to hate one another. And that's a difficult thing to reverse."

"You seem to be doing fine. I don't see you sulking in the living room counting down the minutes until it's time to leave."

"I'm better at keeping up appearances. Scorpius seems to be having a good time and I'm enjoying the conversation with adults without having to go through the floo network. I've been going somewhat stir-crazy with the manor all to myself. The change of pace is... refreshing."

"What about your wife, where's she? Shouldn't she be living with you?" Harry asked, ignoring Hermione's warning look halfway through the sentence.

"We're not really speaking right now," Draco said tensely, accepting a glass of red wine from Hermione as she sat beside Harry at the table. "I'm not even sure what I did to make her so upset with me this time. I mean, we were never what you'd exactly call friendly with each other. Never really spoke at school, weren't in the same year." Hermione was quiet through his contemplative pause; she certainly wasn't going to remind him that he was talking about his failing marriage with the two of them. Of course Harry had no such reservations.

"Then why did you marry her? I mean, if you weren't even friends."

"Surely, Potter, even you know what an arranged marriage is," Draco said, though Hermione noticed that it was without is normal sneer. "Our parents were friends, she's pureblood, and of good family."

"Almost guaranteed to have a child just as blond as the rest of the Malfoys?" Hermione asked, trying to lighten the mood a little and offset Harry's rather shocked expression. "And I think Harry is wondering why you went along with marrying someone you didn't like even if both your parents wanted you to."

"You have both met my father, right?"

"But you're a legal adult and he's in Azkaban; what can he do to you from there?" Hermione actually hit him this time.

"Well, since they don't have dementors there anymore they can't actually keep people in for any great length of time. There have already been breakouts, every one of them have been recaptured as you probably know working in the auror department, but they've still happened. If everything was as safe and perfect as the world inside your head I'd have been a bachelor long ago. I mean, I'm already a single father most of the time, she might as well make it official."

"Single father? There isn't anyone for you to maybe get remarried to?" Hermione asked slyly, as she refilled his wine glass. "A high-school sweetheart? You and Parkinson seemed pretty cozy at the Yule Ball fourth year."

"As did you and Mr. Victor Krum if I recall correctly," Draco countered and Hermione nodded in acknowledgement. "No, Pansy and I are just friends. There was once where I thought I had found someone who I'd really have liked to settle down with," he said softly, swirling the wine in his glass. "And then he goes and casually marries my best mate."

"You're gay," Harry said shortly in a tone that was less that complimentary, and Draco smiled tightly at him as Hermione reached over and hit Harry in the back of the head. "Why did you just hit me?"

"Because that was a completely inappropriate tone and you know it," she hissed, hitting him again for good measure and turning back to Draco.

"I honestly don't care what you think about it because it's really none of your concern."

"And we're once again back to: why did you marry a woman if you know that you could never actually like her back?"

"Is he always like this?" Draco asked Hermione, and she gave him a tight smile. "At least he doesn't listen to everyone and it's not just Snape. Potter, what part of 'arranged marriage by our parents' was unclear? And liking her back is a romantic idea but she's honestly not so pleased with me right now and I think I like her more than she likes me."

"And there's nothing wrong with him being gay," Hermione said definitively, taking the two men's glasses and setting them in the sink to be washed.

"I know that," Harry said defensively before turning to Draco. "I'm not homophobic; I just don't think it's very fair to her."

"I don't think it's exactly fair to Draco either, Harry," Hermione snapped in that 'I'm going to tell you off but I'm not really all that mad at you' tone that she used to use when he and Ron would make things up for their divination homework. "And don't look at me like that; I think we're all mature adults who can address each other by our first names, thank you very much," she said in a tone that left no room for them to argue with her. "When did you say Neville was coming?"

"I have no idea; he said he'd be here when he could make it. Which might be tomorrow knowing him. He disappears every summer and for any of the holidays when he doesn't have to stay at the school."

"About six years ago, after his grandmother had died, Neville sold the estate he inherited from her and moved to this little village in the country. He loves it there and it's not really our place to question his choices."

"Even though we think he's a bit crazy to give up that house he had," Harry added just as there was a knock on the wall behind him. "Neville! When did you get here?"

"Few minutes ago, your lovely mother-in-law let me in. Good to know you were all talking about me while I wasn't here." Draco wasn't exactly sure what to make of the young man who had come in the room and was now giving Hermione a hug. Logically this was Neville Longbottom; the same person he had known since he was eleven years old. But he just couldn't find the pudgy boy he used to bully in the man draping his traveling cloak over the back of a kitchen chair.

"Mr. Malfoy," Neville greeted, warm smile on his face despite all the bad blood between them. "You look well."

"I am doing well, thank you. Despite my _lovely_ neighbours who I know my son told you about," Draco said as lightly as he could.

"Yes, yes he did in fact. I think that was one of the worse days I've had on the job. How's he doing now?"

"Good, better, still worrying himself sick over everything but the scarring is almost gone, thankfully. Thank you for handling it professionally and not freaking out or... blaming me..." Draco said quietly.

"What happened?" Harry asked, Hermione hit him.

"It's really none of our business Harry," Hermione insisted. "Neville, can I get you a drink?"

"I think Quinn put a bottle of her summer wine in my bag. If I remember correctly, that went over rather well last time I was here."

"Oh yeah, she's a genius when it comes to food a drink." Hermione pulled out a stout glass bottle filled with a golden coloured liquid. "Who says you can't make wine out of peaches. Maybe I can tempt Ron down with some of this. Don't kill each other while I'm gone."

"Hermione," Harry said loudly towards her retreating back. "You say it like we can't be civil human beings for longer than five minutes."

"Well, you did try to kill him in our sixth year," Neville pointed out as he grabbed glasses for the wine.

"That was an accident and I've already explained it to him!"

"Would you like some?" Neville asked Draco, ignoring his friend's comment as he poured a glass for himself and one for Harry."

"Maybe a bit to try, thank you."

"My friend Quinn makes wines and bakes as a hobby and insists upon keeping all her friends well and fully stocked. At this point I won't need to buy a bottle of wine for the next four months."

"It's really good. It's sweeter than you'd expect from something as strong as it is."

"It's great for having company. I find I like something a bit stronger and spiced if I'm going to be drinking alone. I tend to have trouble stopping if it's too sweet. I think her honeyed mead will be the death of me one day."

"Oh, don't I know what that's like," Draco said, touching his glass to Neville's. "Though there are times where it wouldn't matter how strong the liquor is."

"Yeah, I know what that's like," Harry said quickly, raising his glass to join the toast. "Drinking yourself stupid after a really hard day at the office." He grinned as Neville raised an eyebrow. "Or I would know how that felt if Ginny would allow any alcohol in the house."

"Yeah, she seems like that kind of person. But if you were to get completely drunk Ginny seems to be at least the type of woman who could take care of you and your hangover. All I ever got was waking up to Asteria glaring down at me wherever I've ended up passing out and then it's two hours of yelling and threatening to curse me inside out."

"I didn't think that spell was legal to use on humans," Neville commented.

"It isn't, it's only authorized for butchers to de-bowel already deceased livestock," Harry explained as he refilled their glasses. "It's cleaner than the way muggles do it." He looked around at their surprised expressions. "No I don't know this first hand; there's a guy in the department who tracks down inappropriate casts of commercial use spells."

"The auror office is now dealing with stuff like that? Has it been that long since our wonderful society has rounded up all the dark wizards?" Draco sighed dramatically, his tone sarcastic. "Don't you wish for the good old days when someone could turn their spouse inside out and the aurors wouldn't care because He Who Must Not Be Named was up and about and much more important than everyone else and ended up getting all the attention."

"You know, if you're thinking it was nicer when Voldemort was causing havoc you need to be cut off," Neville threatened, taking Draco's now nearly empty glass from his hand.

"But it's good, no! Give it back!" Draco didn't care that he was whining, he was having fun and laughing and it has been far too long since he'd done either. Neville stood up as Draco lunged for the cup and held it as far above his head as he could. When had Neville gotten so tall?

A giggle from the doorway caught their attention. Rose was standing in the entrance of the kitchen, hand over her mouth and mirth in her eyes, with Scorpius and Albus behind her.

"Professor Longbottom, when did you get here?" Rose asked brightly as the three children slid into chairs and Harry placed a glass of water in front of each of them.

"Not long ago."

"And he's staying the night for once," Harry said happily, refilling Neville's glass for him. "Since Draco and Scorpius are both celebrating Yule tonight as well-"

"As well?" Neville asked softly, over his glass. "I'm not celebrating Yule, Harry." Draco couldn't help his smirk at the shocked look on Harry's face. The dark haired man looked as though someone had dumped ice water over his head.

"What do you mean you're not celebrating Yule? But every year you tell us that you can't come for the Christmas holiday because you have a festival to attend and it was only when I mentioned that Albus had invited the Malfoys and they were having their holiday while they were here that you decided to come."

"Well, if we're throwing a wrench into things, I'd like to point out that we're not really observing a traditional Yule," Draco said with a smirk and the three children tried to hide their laughter at Harry's reaction. At Neville's prompting look he expanded. "My ancestors on my grandfather's side were the Romans settlers in what they would have called Gaul. A group of them were followers of the goddess Diana and my family has been ever since."

"You know what?" Harry asked, sounding exasperated. "Tonight you two can do whatever the hell you want to do and I'm going to stop trying to figure it out. I hope you two have fun."

"Who two have fun with what?" Ron asked as he walked into the room, followed closely by Hermione.

"Professor Longbottom is taking me out on a date," Draco said easily and to their credit the three children didn't crack and give him away, Rose lit up with a smile and Scorpius' eyebrows shot up as he sent Neville a warning look as if he had to personally approve all of his father's suitors.

"Dinner and a movie," Harry added cordially. He shouldn't be enjoying the horrified look on his best friend's face but after the man had sulked throughout dinner and nearly ruined Albus' reconciliation with his cousin and Harry figured that Ron could stand a few minutes of distress.

"Why?" Ron asked slowly, looking from one person to the next and even back at Hermione behind him to try and see what was going on.

"Because I've been desperately in love with him since our third year," Neville said dramatically, only causing Ron's face to become even paler so his freckles stood in strong contrast. "And we're pulling your leg Ron; we're joking. It's the winter solstice tonight; that's what Draco and I are doing."

"I think you've all had a bit too much to drink," Ron said as he quickly moved forward to collect their glasses and stopped halfway when he noticed Scorpius' hand in the air; just as if he was in class. "You have a question?"

"What's a movie?" Harry was about to laugh; surely the boy Rose has ranted about in her letter to home for beating her in every class hasn't just asked such a simple question. But when Draco looked at him with the same questioning expression and Ron opened and closed his mouth a few times trying to think of an answer Harry began to realise that it wasn't as simple a question as he thought it was.

"Oh, I always forget how little purebloods know about muggle things," Hermione said softly, gaining an affronted look from Scorpius that clearly said that he wasn't pleased with his lack of knowledge. She looked as if she was about to explain but paused and looked at Harry. "How exactly does one explain a film to someone who lives in a world where all pictures move?"

"No idea, I gave up the one time I tried to explain the difference to Ron."

"It's easy," Rose said, placing her hands on the table in front of Scorpius. "In the muggle world normal pictures don't move so they have to use a special camera to record motion. Muggles called actors perform a set of actions or dialogue and these cameras record it. What the cameras product then can be watched again and will always been the same; unlike watching a picture in our world. It's a form of muggle entertainment. They're produced by studios and when they're first made available to the public they're shown in places called theatres and it's a popular choice for people to do on dates."

Harry shared a look with Hermione that congratulated her on her daughter's explanation while Ron was just staring at her like she'd just announced that she had decided to grow an extra head. The two Malfoys however seemed to find it sufficient.

"That's my girl," Hermione said proudly as she shooed the group into the larger living room.

"Are they really the same every time you look at them?" Scorpius asked as he sat next to Rose on the pile of pillows that Hermione has spread across the living room floor to expand their seating capacity. Hermione shared a small smile with Draco; it was dinner all over again. Obviously all their children needed were a couple of common interest topics. "Every time? Doesn't that get terribly boring?"

"Isn't it the same with books? They don't change but if I find a really good book I like to read it several times."

"And how many times have you read _Hogwarts: A History_, Scorpius?" Albus asked with an almost sarcastic tone to his voice.

"Probably not as many times as my Mum has," Rose countered, remembering the well worn and much loved copy that had been packed into her trunk at the start of term.

"There is nothing wrong with reading and just as there was nothing wrong with me knowing everything I could about Hogwarts while I was a student there," Hermione defended, while the three boys who had lived with her at that time shared a laugh. "And how many times had the knowledge from that book helped us?"

"Not many," Harry said, immediately quailing under the look Hermione gave him. "I'm serious, Hermione. The one time we really needed information from it all of the library's copies had been checked out and you had left your copy at home because of how many books we had been set for Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Albus." A voice said from the entrance way of the living room. Ginny Potter was looking much calmer than the last time Neville has seen her; stomping her way up the great hall to get a meeting with Headmistress McGonagall. She had a small, almost smile on her face; like she was trying to hide the fact that she was pleased about something.

Albus had looked up when his name had been called and had shifted closer to Scorpius as if he was afraid his mother would start yelling at them like she had in her Howler. Neville took a quick look at Harry, who wasn't making any move to avoid a confrontation. James had come in behind her and the smirk on his face didn't seem to bode well.

Ginny didn't yell though nor did she raise her voice; in fact, she didn't speak at all. She merely held out one of her arms, allowing a cascade of emerald green fabric to fall from her hand to nearly touch the floor. Neville nearly laughed at the shocked expression on Harry's face, he hadn't known about his son's appointment to the team either. "It's the strangest thing Al," Ginny began, carefully folding her son's quidditch uniform and coming to sit down beside him. "I was going through your trunk to do get your laundry and I came across this article of clothing. Now, if I had two parents who were very into quidditch I would think that they'd be really pleased that I'd made the house team." She sighed, looking embarrassed. "But I understand why you didn't tell us."

"I'm sorry, Albus. For what I said and what I did," Ginny said softly, and Harry took a moment to frown at the shocked look on his oldest son's face. "I was out of line. And as your mother I should be supporting you in your life rather than trying to change it. And I owe you an apology as well, Scorpius. I shouldn't have said those things about you. I respect my son and I have faith in his ability to make good friends."

"I owe you one too, Scorpius," Rose said shyly from the blonde's other side. "I was treating you the way I expected you to behave. We're not our parents and there shouldn't have been bad blood between us before we even met. And would you apologise to Professor Advocatt for me too?"

"Why do you need to apologise to one of your professors?" Hermione asked, causing Rose to blush and avoid her mother's gaze. They waited a few moments for her to elaborate before Albus turned to his aunt.

"She accused Professor Advocatt of causing the death of a student at his previous school."

"You did what!"

"But, Mum, that's what I'd heard-"

"I don't care what you've heard," Hermione said, she was shaking slightly. "You don't say that to someone let alone to one of your teachers! Professor McGonagall wouldn't have hired him if she thought that he was dangerous to the students. I can't imagine how he must have felt."

"Mum, I'm sorry," Rose tried when Hermione paused for a breath.

"I'm not the person you should be saying sorry to! Your cousin isn't going to apologise for you. The minute you get back to the school you are going to march into his office and apologise yourself."

"Yes, Mum." Rose was staring at her lap, unable to meet her mother's intense eyes.

"If it makes you feel any better, Rose, he told me once that most devils choose to live in large cities or work in places that have a lot of traffic because they're less dangerous that way," Neville supplied. "Devils feed on human life energy and it's true that many of them have killed people in order to survive. Especially if they live somewhere that doesn't have too many humans. But since Professor Advocatt works at a school, and has for most of his life, he doesn't have to hurt anyone because there are so many people around him. Since he moved in next door to me I've started having a better night's sleep than I've had in years."

"Is that safe?" Ron asked; a concerned frown on his face.

"I don't see why not. I feel better now than I have in ages."

"I'm sure that if you just went and talked to him he'd accept the apology," Albus said comfortingly, reaching over Scorpius to place a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "I mean, you're in class with us, you've seen how many times Eric's nearly destroyed our classroom and he's never lost his temper with him."

"Now doesn't that sound familiar?" Harry asked, hitting Neville gently on the knee.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Harry. I'm rubbish potions and everyone knows it. But, I'd like to point out, that neither Mr. Pucy nor I have actually succeeded in blowing up the potions classroom."

"No, you just exploded your cauldron, my cauldron, Dean's cauldron," Ron listed, shifting out of the way of the kick Neville had aimed at him. "Wait, I'm missing something. Oh right, Professor Snape's desk."

"And I'd like to apologise to my parents; I should have told you about being put on the team," Albus said quickly, before someone could say something else about Neville's lack of potions skill.

"Yeah, Albus, it's a little bad that I knew you were on the quidditch team when your parents didn't," Draco commented. "What surprises me is that your friend Longbottom here, who works up at the school, didn't write and tell you."

"Well he's not in my house!"

"And Neville's never really been the biggest quidditch fan-"

"That's not true!" James said immediately, gaining surprised looks from the adults. "Professor Longbottom's the new quidditch referee." Hermione spat her mouthful of wine out onto her husband in shock and turned, coughing and sputtering, to Neville.

"You're refereeing for the quidditch matches?"

"You don't have to act so surprised Hermione. I am capable of remembering the rules without you standing there next to me. Alright, so maybe Cedric, the Slytherin captain, stayed late after several classes to make sure I knew all of them but I'm as able as anyone to keep the game fair."

"You? On a broomstick?" Draco asked, slowly and in the most disbelieving tone he could muster. "Really?"

"You know what, Malfoy?" Neville said in a tone that wasn't quite as threatening as their past would have suggested. "I'm bigger than you now and I could take you out."

"Oh please, you've been bigger than me since we were first years. If you'd have gone after me in that fist fight during the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff quidditch match instead of Vince we'd have both been out cold in the hospital wing."

The bantering went back and forth for a few more minutes before Hermione refilled everyone's glass and the conversation turned to the recent Australia vs. Ireland World Cup match; a subject that managed to get Albus and James talking to each other again, however briefly.


End file.
